


Golden Eyes

by hikari_yuma



Category: K (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Full Cast - Freeform, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Minor Character Death, Multi, Polyamory, Teamwork, Trans Character, coffee shop AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-24
Updated: 2017-10-16
Packaged: 2018-04-12 19:41:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 28,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4492245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hikari_yuma/pseuds/hikari_yuma
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tatara Totsuka thinks he's got life figured out. He has a job that he likes and a family to call his own. All it takes is a pair of brilliant golden eyes to set him off balance. In short, a tale of where nothing goes quite to plan (whether it be romance, or trying to catch Saruhiko summoning demons in the basement).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I - Gold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - i've decided to basically edit the first 3 chapters and then keep going with this project. updating schedule may be extremely sporadic, but probably between 1-3 weeks. 
> 
> anyway to introduce the actual story, this is basically a k project coffee shop au that no one asked for but i really needed and still need lmao  
> in short: everyone is alive. yay!!  
> *death parade op plays in the background*

“Totsuka-san?”

“Totsuka-san?”

“ _Totsuka-san!”_

Tatara Totsuka, hobbyist and self-proclaimed barista extraordinaire, nearly made a complete ass of himself as he jumped an impressive 3 feet into the air at the sound of his name. As it happened, he collided with his younger co-worker, Yashiro Isana, and both of them narrowly avoided colliding with the impressive display of china that stacked the walls behind the counter. The two straightened up, both sheepish and nervously surveying the room for one of their bosses, Seri Awashima. A raven-haired young man was watching them with exasperation. He inhaled deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose, a look of barely-concealed pain passing over his face.

“I apologise for startling you,” Kuroh Yatogami began, not sounding at all apologetic. “But the morning rush is due to start soon and we cannot afford to be idling.” Tatara grew even more sheepish at his words, tugging on his bangs nervously. Shiro edged away from him quietly, trying to avoid Kuroh’s pitiless gaze, but Kuroh turned his head and fixed his colleague with a glare. “The same goes for you.” Shiro flashed his riend a nervous smile before heading back behind the counter, whistling as he went. Kuroh’s expression softened as he watched Shiro leave, and Totsuka took the chance to make amends.

“You’re definitely right there, Kuroh-kun! No time to waste, after all…” Totsuka’s mind had been on the guitar chords he’d playing around with. He had the lyrics for a song caught in his mind, but no instrumental to go with it. Usually, one could get away with a bit of daydreaming in a coffee shop, but the morning rush, especially at the Silver Cloud, was a nightmare. If you started daydreaming you’d be swamped with orders that you’d never be able to keep up with. Then Seri would sweep over with her hair in its meticulous braid, her extremely icy, pulled up to her full height. Without a world easily knock over all the orders you’d been struggling with, all without breaking a sweat. Then she’d raise a single eyebrow at you and remind you to keep your head in the game before gliding off to make conversation with whoever had just walked in the door. She really was amazing.

However, now the morning rush would be even more hectic. Thanks to Kuroh’s cooking expertise and advice, the coffee shop now doubled as a bakery, with the shop next door having been purchased by Munakata Reisi (who labelled himself the owner, though they all knew who _really_ ran the show) to suit their needs. Kuroh was already dressed in his new uniform, seeing as he was in charge of the bakery. His long hair had been tied back and a pert, white chef’s hat was perched precariously on his head. He hadn’t been too keen about wearing it, but Neko’s bottom lip had trembled when he’d taken it off and he had begrudgingly agreed. He was also wearing a neat white apron, with the name of the café (they couldn’t call it a coffee shop-slash-bakery forever) stitched neatly onto the front. When Totsuka had asked who was so skilful at embroidery, Shiro had suspiciously began whistling and had made a quick escape to the back of the store.

“Let’s go!” As a new voice rang through the café, Kuroh sighed again, though he was smiling. A pretty young woman swept into the cafe from the back of the store, full of vibrant energy that instantly lit up the coffee shop. She threw her long hair over her shoulder bounded forwards to give Totsuka a hug. “Good morning, Tatara!” He gently ruffled her hair and she hummed happily.

“Good morning, Neko!” Totsuka returned her smile with an equally-blinding one of his own. Neko stepped back and twirled with a small giggle. “Don’t I look cute?” She, too, was wearing an apron. Kuroh was eyeing her unrestrained hair disapprovingly, and slipped a hand into his pocket, no doubt to grab some hair ties in order to try and tame her hair.

“You look really cute.” Shiro grinned at her from behind the counter, his cheeks dusted pink. Neko’s smile grew even wider. She was about to fly forwards and give him a hug when Kuroh appeared out of nowhere – ‘ _I always knew he was a ninja,’_  Totsuka mused – and deftly began braiding Neko’s hair. Neko immediately began to protest, but didn’t dare move in case he tugged on her hair.

“Done.” Kuroh told her with a small nod. “That’s much better. And you look nice with a braid.” Her eyes widened and she blinked slowly, trying to process the fact that stoic Kuroh had just given her a compliment. To hide her sudden embarrassment, she dug around in the pocket of her apron before pulling out an assorted collection of hair clips. She reached up and, on tip toes, slipped two hair clips into his hair. Surprisingly, Kuroh made no move to stop her, even though one sported an obnoxiously bright butterfly and the other a leek – or was that meant to be a sword? As expected, they didn’t look half bad on him. In fact, Totsuka would have to say that his younger co-worker looked kinda… _adorable._  Not that he’d ever tell Kuroh that, because he’d only get glared at. Still, he was sure Shiro and Neko would agree with them. In fact…Totsuka glanced at Shiro, whose cheeks were now darkening to a light red. Hehe…Tatara decided that he’d  _definitely_  have to bring that up later.

“‘ _That’s much better_.’” Neko tried to imitate Kuroh’s words, but couldn’t get her voice quite deep enough. “You look so  _cute_ , Kurosuke, I should have done this ages ago!” Kuroh spluttered at this, muttering something about him being  _not_  cute, but in fact  _very_  dangerous and skilful with a wooden spoon, and that he was a  _chef_  and  _not_  a little adorable puppy. Totsuka wasn’t really paying attention – the bell on the door had just tinkled, cheerfully announcing the arrival of a customer.

He had turned his attention to the newcomer, a smile on his face as he went to greet them. As he took stock of the customer, he became very much speechless. He gulped. The guy was huge and muscular and  _cool_  and for whatever reason, was staring  _right at him_. Tatara was about to look around him, in case Seri was standing right behind him and that was who the redhead was looking at, but he figured he didn’t want to look like a fool if she wasn’t there. As the newcomer took a couple more steps into the café, Kuroh stopped rambling and Neko stopped teasing him. Kuroh gave Tatara a small nod and he and Neko slipped away to the bakery, leaving Totsuka with just Shiro and their new customer. The café was open, of course, so it wasn’t a surprise to see someone there, and it wasn’t be long before people would start pouring in on their way to work.

“Welcome!” Shiro offered a smile to the grouchy redhead, who looked like he had a case of the ‘early morning bitchface’ that Fushimi, another of Tatara’s co-workers, walked into work with practically every day. The redhead reached the counter and looked around with narrowed eyes. “How can I help you?” Shiro continued, as Tatara was currently out of action as he stared at the redhead.

“I’ll have a black coffee. No sugar.” Totsuka managed to stop his jaw from dropping at the order. _Urgh,_ what horrible taste. Tatara had tried straight black coffee for a dare once and it was  _disgusting._  His feelings of ‘wow’ evaporated a little.

“Coming right up, sir. Please take a seat and we’ll be right with you. Unless you want take away?” Shiro was still talking and Tatara decided he wouldn’t tease the younger man later. He  _really_  owed the guy for sounding all smooth and professional and handling the grouchy redhead while he stood there probably looking like some sort of pufferfish.

“I’ll have it here.” The redhead spoke again before slouching off. He sounded like he’d just gotten out of bed, and Totsuka felt sorry for the one who’d had to get the guy up early. As soon as he sat down, Shiro and Totsuka turned to the coffee machine, Shiro passing Tatara what he needed to make the simple beverage.

“D’you reckon Fushimi-san’s been summoning demons again?” Shiro asked quietly, his lip twitching as he tried to hold in a laugh. “That guy seems like a right piece of work if you ask me.” Now  _that_  made Tatara smirk, and he forgot his awkwardness in the encounter with the strange man as he thought of the joke that everyone in the café, except for Fushimi (who really didn’t think it too funny at all) found hilarious.

“I see you’re questioning my extra-curricular activities again.” Fushimi deadpanned, leaning into the space between the two of them. It was only the thought of Seri descending from upstairs to ask them why there’d been screaming that kept their mouths shut as they jumped at Saruhiko’s sudden appearance.  _Of course_  he’d show up an hour late, and of  _course_  he’d be as silent and creepy as possible. Fushimi took pride in being able to sneak in without being noticed. “Just because I like to spend my afternoon’s alone –”

“And that you’re always in your basement.” Tatara muttered under his breath.

“And that you can never explain what you do at home.” Shiro added quietly.

“And that you –”

“Alright, alright, I get it.” Fushimi seemed to have given up, rolling his eyes and stalking into the back room to get changed. However, just as Fushimi disappeared into the kitchen, the two realised that the coffee was now ready. They exchanged glances.

“Scissors paper rock to see who was to give it to Mr. Grouch.” Shiro whispered.

“You’re on.”

\---

Tatara lost. Out of 6 rounds, he’d only won  _two_ , and now he was preparing to face his death.

 

Alright, so  _maybe_  that was a little exaggerated. Besides, how hard could it be? He glanced over at the redhead and gulped, feeling his heart flutter. Finally he worked up the courage to head over to the newcomer’s table, placing the coffee on the table with practiced ease.

“Here you are, sir. One black coffee, no sugar. Can I interest you in our selection of pastries?” Tatara asked, trying hard to appear calm and collected. At least he didn’t have fiery, golden eyes boring into him this time.

“No.” The reply was flat and the man was clearly disinterested in whatever he had to say. It was…dismissive. Tatara, in fact, felt slightly annoyed. No, not annoyed. It just irked him, was all. Had he  _really_ gotten all tongue-tied over a guy like this?

“Very well, your majesty.” Tatara replied, turning to go – and then he froze.

Had he really just – oh no, he was going to get  _fired,_  the guy would complain and demand to see the manager and then it’d be all over for him, and he’d have to go outside always dressed in a disguise because what if the guy saw him? He’d have to change his name and –

“Heh.” Tatara’s internal rambling of panic was brought to an abrupt halt as the redhead gave a small snort of laughter. Tatara chuckled nervously, unsure of what to do. He was still frozen, and kept his eyes on the customer, just in case Mr. Grouch decided to ask for the manager. “Been a long time since someone’s talked to me like that.”

“O-oh, well, I am terribly, ah, sorry.” Tatara tripped over his words in his haste to reply. “Sir.” He added hurriedly, remembering that he was still an employee, and this guy was their ‘esteemed guest’ (Reisi’s words, not his). Another snort. Tatara vaguely wondered if Shiro was watching everything.

“Maybe I’ll be back.” The redhead mused, glancing up at Tatara, eyes like pools of molten gold. Tatara mentally lowered the guy’s jerk rating.

“I hate to do self-promotion, but please come again.” Totsuka gave a little bow, grateful that he was able to move freely without worrying about losing his job (hopefully). “My name is Tatara Totsuka.” Again, he wondered if he’d gone too far. Why would the guy even care about who he was? What if he was being too forwards? Tatara internally chastised himself as he wondered if the guy thought he was flirting. The redhead paused, but finally sighed and relented.

“Mikoto Suoh.” The brunette couldn’t stop the grin that spread across his face. And, to his shock, the redhead’s lips turned up at the corners, into a miniscule smile that quickly disappeared far too quickly. But at least the bitchface was gone now, right? “It was…interesting, meeting you.”

“L-likewise.” Totsuka replied, turning and hurrying back to the counter as, suddenly, five people entered the café. It seemed like the morning rush was beginning. Shiro cast him a sly look as Tatara reached the counter, and the brunette knew his dignity would probably meet its end sometime later in the day. Still…Totsuka cast a final glance at the redhead. Had that…been a compliment? From Mr. Grouch? It was  _absurd_ , but he could feel his face heating up.

It was times like these that Tatara was reminded of just how non-heterosexual he was.

\---

It was around four midday when the endless flow of people finally began to slow. As they closed for their lunch break (half an hour had never seemed so short to Totsuka) he flopped down onto a chair and face planted into the table. “That was so hard.” He groaned, voice muffled.

“Or you simply aren’t suited for this type of job.” Fushimi huffed, but his insult was lacking any spite and he seemed just as weary as Tatara. Kukuri, the sixth employee of the Silver Cloud café, was resting her chin on her hands and nursing a latte.

“I agree with Totsuka-san…” She yawned, absentmindedly blowing a wisp of brown hair out of her face. “Maybe Awashima-san and Munakata-san will have to hire some more people, if every morning gets to be like this.” As she spoke, Kuroh appeared from the bakery’s kitchen, covered in flour. Kuroh, who had the highest level of fitness and stamina out of them all put his hands on his hips and lifted one eyebrow. It mirrored the stance Seri usually took when she was going to lecture someone.

“I’m sure we’ll get used to it, after a while.” He told them all. “We all need to try and best and work hard.” It had taken Kuroh a while to get comfortable with them all, but now he was he usually used his new confidence to lecture them. Totsuka couldn’t help but agree with him, thinking back to when he’d first started working at the coffee shop.

“Ah, I guess you’re right, Kuroh-kun.” He sighed, blowing hair out of his eyes. Geez, it looked like they all needed haircuts, before they wasted all of their breath on blowing their hair out of their eyes. _Oooooh,_ maybe he should take up hairdressing! Surely his co-workers would be glad for a free haircut to allow him to practice.

“Totsuka-san, you’re daydreaming again.” Fushimi’s bored voice broke into his thoughts, and he looked up to see Fushimi roll his eyes.

“How could you tell?” Totsuka was curious. Fushimi always seemed surrounded by apathy.

“You had that big goofy smile on your face again, the one that means we’ll all be subjected to being lab rats for one of your hobbies.” Tatara laughed, tugging on his bangs again. It looked like Saruhiko hadn’t forgiven him from that time he’d practiced the art of face painting on Fushimi. Saruhiko had looked hilarious as one of those Western clowns. He was sure he still had a picture stashed away somewhere of the side-splitting result of his handiwork.

“Of course he’s right!” Neko was pouting, arms crossed over her chest. “We’re a team, aren’t we?! We can do anything we put our minds to.”

“Yeah!” Shiro jumped to his feet from where he’d been sitting beside Totsuka, clenching his fists. It seemed Kuroh and Neko had succeeded in firing everyone up, and their energy was infectious. Tatara found himself grinning and throwing one of his hands into the air.

“Let’s do this!”

“I hate when you all conspire together like that. You’re so happy and have so much bravado that it’s embarrassing.” Fushimi, ever the pessimist, was eager to add in his own thoughts on the matter, but Tatara could see right through him. Was that a  _smile_  he saw Fushimi struggling to stifle?

“Fushimi-kun, are you getting enough sleep at night?” Kukuri asked, a small frown on her face. Fushimi gave her a look that would have made everyone else in the room blanch, but Kukuri merely smiled at him, unaffected by his grouchy mood. “I’ll take that as a no, then!” She replied innocently.

“I’m going to eat lunch, so mind you don’t go and ruin my appetite.” Fushimi told them all. At this, Kukuri’s face lit up and she rushed into the kitchen. They all looked at each other curiously – knowing Kukuri, she probably had something exciting planned. It wasn’t long before she returned, arms full of half a dozen carefully-wrapped parcels. “I made you all bentos!” Something warm blossomed in Tatara’s chest, and he grinned at her. Of course Kukuri would think of them all when she made her lunch in the morning, wanting to save them from greasy fast food. It was times like these that Totsuka was reminded of just how much he loved his little family. Even if none of them were related by blood, Tatara couldn’t think of them as anything else. Once more his thoughts were interrupted, but this time, it was because Neko had practically thrown herself at her friend, nearly overbalancing the slim brunette.

“KUKURI!” Neko wailed. “You’re too good to us!”

“Kukuri, you’re amazing!” Shiro added, beaming at her.

“Kukuri, thank you very much.” Kuroh bowed to her. “I deeply appreciate the time and effort you have put into making us these.”

“Kukuri-chan, you’re the best.” Tatara got up and ruffled her hair, forgetting his exhaustion. He carefully took some of the bentos from her, before Neko’s enthusiastic hug caused her to drop one. The pretty brunette was blushing scarlet at all the praise, ducking her head. She ducked her head, unable to bow seeing as Neko had her in a vice-like hug still.

“Th-thank you very much!” Kukuri stammered, and it wasn’t long before she, too, was beaming.

\---

It was 6pm. Fushimi had just flipped the sign that hung on the door so that it read ‘CLOSED’.

They collectively sighed, exhausted, aching, but pleased. After their pep talk at lunch, they’d thrown themselves back into their work with three times the gusto. Now they were sitting around one of the tables, nursing hot and cold drinks, sharing the left over baked goods, and discussing the day’s events. Kukuri’s bentos were brought up, as well as Fushimi’s silent entrance and the party at the local college that signified its 200th anniversary. They’d all be going, seeing as most of them were students there.

Today was one of the rare days that they had worked together all through the day – usually a few were at the college for a lecture, or spent their free time studying and visiting family, or just hanging out. There were a few other employees other than just the six of them, but Tatara didn’t know them like he did the other five sitting with him now.

“…and, early this morning, you know that guy who walked in?” Tatara had been listening, but hadn’t been paying particular attention to all the different threads of conversation. Uh-oh. He knew were this was headed, and he did  _not_  want anyone teasing him about getting all googly-eyed over some guy who like plain black coffee. Nuh-uh. Fiery golden eyes flickered through his mind and he felt heat rush to his cheeks.

Of course, Kukuri picked it up.

“What happened?” She asked innocently, looking over at Tatara curiously. “He didn’t do anything, did he?”

“No! No, it was…fine. He was…fine…” Tatara thought briefly of the redhead’s muscular shoulders. He certainly was fine. Tatara waved his hands nervously, trying to fend them off, but they’d all sensed the chance that there was an opportunity to tease the hobbyist, and they were all eager to take it.

“He walked in like he owned the place, right?” That was Shiro. “Then he comes up to us and orders a straight black coffee, no sugar, and slouches off to sit down. He’s got a bitchface worse than Fushimi-san’s –”

“Hey!” Saruhiko scowled. “I do  _not_  have a bitchface.”

“You do.” Neko piped up with a mischievous smile.

“And  _anyway_ , Tatara-san loses against me at scissors paper rock and he takes the coffee over to Mr. Grouch. I couldn’t hear what they were talking about but Mr. Grouch  _smiled_  at Tatara-san and then Tatara-san started blushing and I have a feeling the guy got his number. Right, Tatara-san?”

“ _Shiro_ …” Tatara groaned, burying his face in his hands. “My dignity…it’s in pieces…all over the floor…”

“Because,” Yashiro shrugged like it was obvious. “You’re fun to tease – you go all red.”

“Do you have a crush on him, Tatara-san?” Neko asked slyly, before Totsuka could do anything to save what was left of his reputation (if he’d ever had a good one in the first place).

“It’s  _not_  like that, Suoh-san was just –” 

“You already know his name!” Neko exclaimed, latching on Tatara’s arm. “Go on, tell us, what was he like?”

“He was – he was –” Tatara scrambled for words. “Nice. He wasn’t a total jerk.” There was no point in not telling them anything, after all. They’d just keep pestering him about it,  _especially_  if Mikoto decided to come again, like he’d said he might.

“Sounds like love.” Shiro piped up.

“Definitely.” Kukuri agree with a toothy grin.

“I’m regretting the decision to tell you guys about my sexuality.” Tatara groaned. “Also, I didn’t get his number.” At this, they all stopped and stared.

“Totsuka-san –”

“I think –”

“We may –”

“Have all –”

“Completely underestimated you!” Neko finished. Now it was  _his_  turn to stare.

“Why did it take all five of you to complete that sentence?” He didn’t get an answer – well, not to his question. Fushimi adjusted his glasses and sighed, leaning back in his chair.

“Totsuka-san, I think it needs to be said that you are hopeless when it comes to romance.” Totsuka shot him a mock glare, but had to agree with him. Honestly, why the others thought he was a genius when it came to romance was beyond him. “I believe even I have more skill at this subject than you.” Saru continued, raising an eyebrow. “Am I wrong?”

“Well…no, not exactly. But I doubt that you’re even interested in dating.” He mirrored Fushimi’s stance, mostly to see if he could get some sort of reaction out of the younger man, but Fushimi only rolled his eyes.

“That is correct. Romance irks me. There seems to be no point to it.” Neko glared at him. “However, hypothetically, if I  _wanted_  to get a date, I could surely get one easier than you.”

“Is that a challenge?” Totsuka grinned at him. Once more, Fushimi rolled his eyes, and Tatara wondered if he got dizzy from doing that so often.

“At the college celebration, if you are up to it, we can do that if you wish.”

“You – you’re – you’re  _serious_?” Tatara gaped at him.

“You were the one who called it a challenge. And besides, if you’re lucky, your beloved ‘Suoh-san’ will be there.”

“Fushimi-kun, I love you, but sometimes you can be a real jerk.”

"Obviously."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - i still stand by fushimi’s demon-summoning skills
> 
> humour is still bad as ever and i know this because as i was reading over this i started laughing so hard that i cried (it was midnight so i mean that's probably another reason)
> 
> as for why totsuka isn’t with homra i wanted to try out some new dynamics. i’ve always wondered how totsuka would get along with the silver clan and main 3 of sceptre 4.
> 
> the a/n two years ago: "also i'm probably going to edit this heaps because it's unbeta'd and i wrote most of it at 12am so. it's not the best."  
> me two years later: so i finally got around to that edit i was talking about


	2. II - Violet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Ninja!"
> 
> "Masked Man!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - screams because of seri/totsuka friendship

It was Saturday night, and time for the university event. They’d closed up early, Kukuri and Kuroh had arrived from visiting family – Kukuri had gone with Kuroh to visit his adopted father, Miwa Ichigen (who was in the hospital), and Fushimi had come from home (demon summoning, Shiro had muttered, nodding sagely). They were all getting ready upstairs but Tatara, who was already ready, was wiping down the counter. He heard the door open and looked up. He was just about to tell the newcomer that they were closed for the night when he saw that it was the café’s blonde co-owner. Seri gave him a nod of greeting, and she started towards the door that led to upstairs, hesitating.

“Tatara, can we talk?” She asked, polite as ever. Tatara grinned at her and nodded.

“Sure! I’m listening, just packing these away.” He gestured to the cleaning equipment and she nodded, sliding into a chair and watching him for a moment. 

“Tatara…” Seri sighed, and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’ll cut straight to the chase. Yashiro told me that someone caught your eye.” Totsuka’s eyes widened and he opened his mouth to interrupt, but she held up a hand. “Look, I know I’m legally not your mother and – well, I’m nearly the same age as you – but I still feel responsible for your wellbeing in that kind of way. Ever since Reisi and I found you on the side of the road…” She trailed off, frowning.

“Seri-san, I appreciate that you’re worrying about me. But you really don’t have to!”

“I do, Tatara. I keep thinking that everyone who tries to pursue you romantically is going to hurt you. Just like…all the other times.” She clenched her fist, brows now furrowed in anger. “But I’ll protect you with everything I’ve got. So will Reisi. So will any of us here.” Tatara could only stare at her with wide eyes. It was rare to see her this emotional, and over someone like  _him?_  He felt like he didn’t deserve the concern.

“Look, I don’t mind.” He saw her raise an eyebrow. “Well, I guess…I do mind. But not everyone is accepting, right? And besides, if they’re jerks about who I am then I know they don’t actually care about me. Problem solved, right?” He spread his arms wide and smiled again. “You guys are my family, and that’s all I’ll ever really need.”

“You’re always so devil-may-care.” Seri sighed and ruffled his hair, but he could tell she was touched. Ever since he’d met Seri, she’d always been incredibly protective of him. From the age of fifteen been the one fighting the bullies, hovering over him and making sure he was alright. Seri had become a constant in Tatara’s life, and a constant that he loved. “Fine, I guess I can’t make you be more careful. But if this guy does anything to you, just say the word and I’ll hunt him down.” For emphasis, she let the heel of one of her stilettos tap against the ground – how she got around in them so easily was hard for Tatara to fathom, but she could  _run_  in stilettos, so he wasn’t making any inquiries. “I’ll give him a piece of my mind.” Suddenly she slid off the chair and hugged him tightly. He returned the hug with as much force as he could. “I mean it, Tatara.” She whispered fiercely.

“I know you do.” He replied softly, before tapping her shoulders lightly. “I need air!” He choked out melodramatically, even though it was true. When Seri gave you a hug, you had to make sure you had a good lungful of air because her grip was vice-like. She released him and turned to go, but he gently caught her wrist.

“Hey, Seri?” He murmured. “You’re the best sister I could ever have hoped to have.” She turned around and froze, momentarily caught off guard. Recovering, she flicked his forehead and he let go.

“You’re my annoying little brother. But…you’re not so bad yourself.”

\---

Munakata gave an approving nod as he gave Kuroh’s costume a once-over.

“You make an excellent ninja, Yatogami.” Kuroh gave a small bow to his boss, wanting to tell him that he was actually dressed as a samurai but not having the heart to. Munakata had a fascination with ninjas that, according to Seri, had only grown since childhood.

“I think you’ll find that he is dressed as a ‘masked man’.” Fushimi interjected with a sigh, lazily brushing his bangs out of his eyes. Of course, the stubborn locks merely fell right back into his eyes. Tatara, who was standing at Kuroh’s shoulder adjusting the younger man’s wooden katanas, wondered if Neko had any hair clips on her. He was about to turn around and look for her, inspired by imagining how Fushimi would react to having sparkly hair accessories thrown at him, when he saw Munakata daintily push his glasses up his nose. Steely blue eyes flashed, Reisi smirked, and Tatara knew that Saruhiko had better watch his back.

“Uh-oh.” He murmured, and Kuroh turned to look at him, quirking an eyebrow as if to say, ‘ _shall we get going before we somehow get roped into this?’_  Tatara nodded, but it seemed that the other men were already going at it.

“Ninja.” Munakata proclaimed loudly, eyes fixed on his bespectacled employee.

“ _Masked. Man._ ” Fushimi shoved his glasses up his nose as he responded, eyes narrowed. Totsuka hoped that they’d both make it out of this alive, seeing as Fushimi was willingly entering a debate concerning ninjas with  _Reisi Munakata_ , the ninja-lover.

“This is  _ninjustu!_ ”

“He’s a masked man!”

“Clearly –”

“In any case –”

“He is –”

“A samurai!” Shiro popped up from Kuroh’s other side, face scrunched up in bemusement as he looked between his nerdy boss and creepy co-worker. “I’m sorry for interrupting, but I thought you should know.” This, however, was a big mistake, as the two taller men turned to him, adjusting their glasses at exactly the same time, eyes flashing.

“ _Ninja!_ ”

“ _Masked man!_ ”

Thankfully, Seri arrived just in time to save Shiro from destruction. She was clad in a shimmering, form-fitting blue dress, with a thigh-high slit up on side. Tatara’s eyebrows rose – it wasn’t something he usually would have pinned her as wearing – but then he spotted that underneath the dress, she was wearing leggings. He grinned – now  _that_  was more like Seri. And besides, if anyone made her uncomfortable, they’d get taken down by Munakata, one of the café employees, or Seri herself. The latter was more likely. Honestly, he wouldn’t be surprised if Seri and Munakata ended up getting married platonically. Tatara figured it’d work for them. Without any gushy stuff going on, you could talk about feelings, and nothing would ever get awkward, and you could claim the title of “super best friends for life”, and even if you got married to someone else in a romantic sense, you’d still keep your platonic marriage and it’d be great. Plus, there would be no big waste of money if you decided to ‘divorce’. Also, tax benefits.

“What’s going on here?” Seri asked, eyeing the arguing pair and a nervous Shiro. Deciphering the situation easily, she sighed and glided forwards, grabbing Fushimi by the collar and Munakata by the ear. “We have only a few minutes before we’re due to leave and you two are messing around.” She said this with a smile, her eyes narrowed in a warning glare as she let Munakata and Fushimi go. “Everyone who  _is_  ready, please follow me.” Totsuka bounded forwards eagerly at her words, the childish joy of going to a celebration cancelling out other thoughts.

“This is going to be so much fun, Seri!” Tatara exclaimed eagerly. Usually they would have all gone in traditional dress, but the university had encouraged people to participate in the various contests they were holding, one of them being a costume contest. Seri chuckled as she looked over at him.

“Mm.” She hummed absentmindedly in agreement. “Neko, Kukuri, are you ready?” She called down a dimly-lit hallway. The door at the end of the hallway flew open almost instantly and Neko began bounding towards them, tugging a slim brunette after her. Kukuri’s dress fell just above her knees; the soft purple material sewn with silver stars around the hem. A plastic tiara and wand completed the outfit. Courtesy of Kuroh, Neko long hair was braided and wound into a bun, secured with several silver hair pins.

“Sorry, Seri-san!” Neko flashed Totsuka and Seri a bright smile. “Eh…wait a minute, where are Shiro and Kuroh? Oh, and the Boss with Glasses and Creepy Glasses-kun?” Tatara sniggered at Neko’s nickname for Fushimi. Poor guy. They all picked on him every chance they got.

“Taking their sweet time.” Seri sighed, crossing her arms over her chest and glancing over her shoulder.

“Maybe we should leave them here.” Kukuri piped up sweetly. Tatara looked at Kukuri with renewed respect. Kukuri was usually polite and kind, but he decided then and there that she was not to be underestimated. No wonder she and Neko got along so well. Neko giggled, and bumped her shoulder against Kukuri’s.

“Good thinking!”

\---

Unfortunately, the rest of the staff showed up not too long after Kukuri’s suggestion, and the nine of them piled into two separate cars. Totsuka ended up squashed between Munakata and Saruhiko, with Shiro in the passenger seat and Kuroh as the designated driver. The girls had obviously ditched them, speeding ahead on the highway. Despite how car rides usually went down, with the guys taking the opportunity to argue, they were unusually silent.

“Sooo…” Shiro was obviously finding the silence uncomfortable. “Uh…you guys wanna play a game or something?”

“No.” Fushimi grumbled, staring out of the window. He and Munakata were dressed almost identically, but neither had specified what they were dressed as, clad in tight-fitting black clothes with a bejewelled blue cloak. The diamantes were sown to the soft fabric, and Tatara found himself with the urge to reach out and touch the material. Of course, it wouldn’t be too hard to do, seeing as he was already squashed against Fushimi’s side. “We’ll be there soon, anyway. There’s no point.” He swept his hair out of his eyes, and Tatara itched to pin back the offending strands of hair with some hair clips he’d loaned from Neko.

“Okay, okay! Sorry.” Shiro pouted, turning to face the front again. Tatara then inhaled deeply, and grinned. As the second oldest in the car and the big brother, he figured it was his duty to make sure everyone cheered up by the time they arrived at the celebration.

“All of you, smile!” He ordered, accidentally elbowing Saruhiko and Munakata (he had bony elbows, and both of them visibly winced). At first, only Shiro indulged him, turning back once more to grin, until Kuroh met his eyes in the rear-view mirror and gave a small smile. “C’mon, tonight’s going to be great! There’ll be lots of food, and pretty costumes, and music, and it’ll be  _awesome_!”

“How do you never tire of being so disgracefully optimistic?” Saru huffed, folding his arms over his chest. “An outing to such a social gathering is  _not_  what I call ‘fun’.” Tatara figured he wasn’t being entirely honest, seeing as he could have outright refused, at least to dressing up. But Totsuka decided not to push it, or tease him (for once). It had taken  _years_  to coax Fushimi out of his shell, and even now he had a prickly exterior and was hard to engage.

“An outing such as this will be interesting, Saruhiko.” Munakata replied, somewhat chastising. “The university has obviously poured a lot of hard work and effort into this celebration. I expect it will at least intrigue you.” He smiled at Tatara and Saruhiko, pushing his glasses up his nose yet again. Fushimi didn’t answer, but he seemed to relax a little, dropping his shoulders, the frown on his face lessening.

“We’re here!” Shiro announced loudly, and Kuroh snapped at him to not jump out of the car because he had yet to park. “I’m not that much of a moron.” Shiro pouted, and Kuroh raised an eyebrow. Shiro grinned sheepishly and put his seatbelt back on.

\---

A plethora of delectable smells wafted from different stalls, there was excited chatter filling the air alongside the distant melodies of a brass band. And the decorations – it took their breaths away. Strings of fairy lights were strung everywhere, coloured red, yellow, orange, pink, filling the night with warmth. University students were wandering around passing out free glow sticks, and where the fairy lights weren’t there to illuminate the ground like a thousand tiny suns, glow sticks waved and twirled in the distant darkness. They were standing on the top of the stairs and so could look down a street formed by differently-coloured stalls. Something warm blossomed in Totsuka’s chest as he viewed the excitement and joy that was reaching the nine friends in waves. Tatara couldn’t stop staring as they began wondering down the concrete path. Nor could he keep his mouth shut, apparently.

“Is catching flies your new hobby?” Saruhiko remarked with a raised eyebrow, but his tone held no trace of spite. It seemed that he was also taken by the decorations – ah, Totsuka saw what had grabbed his attention. There was a tent set up on the grass nearby that was run by the astrology students, a great white dome that read ‘PLANETARIUM’ in bold katakana. Fushimi had a great fixation with space, and they all knew that if there was one thing Saruhiko actually  _enjoyed_ , it was stargazing. Tatara had asked why he wasn’t studying astronomy once, and the younger man’s face had taken on a tight, pinched expression. Fushimi had glared at him, and not a mock glare, or a ‘ _you’re being annoying_ ’ glare, but one that had sent chills up and down Totsuka’s spine. But Fushimi hadn’t been looking at him – no, more at a person that he could see in his mind’s eye and absolutely  _loathed_. “ _My father doesn’t want me to take that path.”_  Saruhiko had sounded like he was reciting a lesson learned long ago. Tatara had never brought up the subject again, and had warned others not to.

“Go on ahead, Saruhiko.” Seri told Fushimi, who gave her a small nod before hurrying off. Tatara, brought back to the present again, smiled gently.

“I’m sure he’ll have fun.” He murmured, mostly to himself. Seeing that Shiro was staring at him curiously, he pushed thoughts of Saru out of his head for the time being and turned up his energy by 110%. “Alright, so are we splitting up, or staying together?” He looked around at the eight of them. Hmm…they’d block up the path, by the looks of it.

“I think splitting up for the time being is our best option.” Seri commented, and Neko nodded enthusiastically.

“Shiro, Kuroh, Kukuri and me can be one group!” Neko piped up eagerly. Neko grinned at Tatara and then the four said goodbye and hurried off, talking loudly about what they wanted to see and what foods they wanted to try.

“Ah, remember when we were that young?” Tatara sighed wistfully, and Seri chuckled.

“You’re only a few years older than them, Tatara. Lighten up.” Totsuka huffed playfully and stuck his nose up in the air.

“Excuse me, twenty-two  is  _ancient_.” But before he could continue moaning about how old he was, he saw something – or rather, some _one_  – that made him stop in his tracks. Unruly red hair, broad shoulders, and a pair of fiery golden eyes –

Tatara squeaked.

“Is something wrong, Tatara?” Seri asked, looking over at him with one eyebrow raised.

“Oh, of course not, Seri. Why wouldn’t I –” It seemed that Mikoto was lazily scanning the crowd. He didn’t appear to be looking for anyone, but soon enough he’d spot Tatara and the brunette would  _die_ of mortification, especially now that he was remembering all of the little details of their first and previous meeting. Sensing that something was up, Seri followed his gaze. When her sapphire-like eyes landed on Suoh, they narrowed. A frown rose to her face but just as she opened her mouth, what Tatara had been both dreading and hoping for happened. Hypnotic golden eyes landed on him, lingered, recognition sparked within the fiery depths, and the tall man began making his way through the crowd _–_ towards _him._

 

If Tatara hadn’t chose that exact moment to hide behind Munakata – Seri was his first choice, but Munakata’s boots had heels and he was now closer to six foot two – he would have seen that Mikoto was not alone. A young girl was staring around at the world impassively, clutching his hand. At his left shoulder stood a blonde, who wore an easy smile and tinted glasses and at his right a short young man who had short, chestnut hair and who appeared to be blushing. Munakata, who now had one of his employees taking refuge under his cape (it was similar to Fushimi’s but was darker in colour and violet, so that it matched his eyes) was incredibly confused. Then he, too, saw Mikoto, and made a soft sound of ‘ _ah_ ’ as he understood.

“Do you owe him money, Tatara?” The dark-haired man inquired, who was now taking pity on him and adjusting his cape so that Totsuka couldn’t be easily seen.

“No!” The brunette squeaked. “Suoh-san was, um, was in the café the other day –”

“I sense where this is going.” Reisi commented to no one in particular.

“I didn’t get his phone number!” Tatara added pitifully, before anyone could ask. “I smiled at him, then I insulted him, and then –”

“Tatara, you useless homosexual,” Seri hissed. “What did you do?” Tatara honestly didn’t know why he was hiding from Mikoto. He was a responsible adult – okay, that was a lie. He wasn’t scared of Mikoto, and kinda liked him. Maybe it was that he hadn’t had a successful relationship in a while. Maybe it was fear that maybe he wasn’t a good romantic partner. Maybe – but thankfully, he was saved from his self-deprecating thoughts by the redhead himself.

“Suoh,” That was Munakata’s voice. “It’s been a while.”

“‘ _It’s been a while?”’_  Tatara was confused. ‘ _Does Munakata know him?’_

“Yeah.” Mikoto sighed. He sounded exactly as he had a few days ago. Tatara wondered if he still had a bitchface on.

“What brings you here?” He could imagine Seri practically x-raying Mikoto with her eyes as Munakata continued – by now her eyes were probably icy, challenging Mikoto to ask about Totsuka. Munakata probably had a raised eyebrow, or was looking over at Seri. The two of them were also most likely having one of their wordless conversations through eye contact. When Mikoto didn’t answer, Reisi spoke again. “You aren’t the nostalgic type, Suoh. Do you want something from me?”

“Nah,” It seemed Suoh wasn’t a person of many words. Next, he heard a grunt from the redhead. “Cut it out, Izumo.” The name was unfamiliar to Tatara, but he could guess that this Izumo person had trodden on Mikoto’s foot, elbowed him, or punched him.

“I apologise for my friend’s terrible behaviour.” That was one of the guys that had been with Mikoto. “He thought he saw someone...ah, you wouldn’t happen to know someone named Totsuka, do ya? Mikoto’s been hopin’ that he’d show up.”

“Izumo,” Mikoto warned, and Tatara’s expressed twisted into one of complete confusion.  Suoh had been…hoping to see him? He felt heat rise to his cheeks. He inhaled deeply before deciding to reveal himself. It seemed he could either be a coward forever, or show some guts – not literally, though. That’d be a bit too messy.

“Uh, hi!” He hoped he sounded enthusiastic as he rose to his feet slowly (it probably looked like Munakata had grown another head). Seri glanced over at him, with one of her ‘ _we’ll talk later’_  looks. Mikoto and his companions all looked bemused at his sudden appearance. “Hi…yeah. Fancy seeing you here!” He finished lamely, with a little wave.  _Geez_ , so embarrassing! To the two he didn’t know, he decided to introduce himself. “I’m Tatara Totsuka.”

“Eh, Mikoto-san, this is the guy you’ve been talking about?” That was the short guy. Mikoto closed his eyes and sighed again, clearly completely fed up with his two companions. “I’m Yata, by the way!”

“Misaki.” The tall blonde – he must have been Izumo – added.

“Oi, Kusanagi-san!” Yata protested, looking as if he was going to stomp his foot. He carried a skateboard under one arm.

“My name’s Izumo. Izumo Kusanagi.” The blonde continued, as if he hadn’t heard Yata’s protest. Tatara became suddenly aware that the young girl was staring at him with her face as unreadable as before. He smiled softly at her.

“Hi.” He greeted her cheerfully. She tilted her head slightly to one side and blinked her crimson eyes.

“This is Anna.” Izumo added, patting her head. She gave a nod.

“Totsuka,” Mikoto sounded incredibly uncomfortable with the whole situation. He was staring off to the side, ignoring Tatara’s gaze, one hand rubbing the back of his neck. “You doing anything right now?”

“Oh…well –” He over at Seri, then sidled out from behind Munakata to look at his other boss. Seri sighed, and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

“Go ahead, Tatara. Go have fun.” Tatara was about to take a step towards Mikoto, Izumo and Yata, when he remembered the conversation between him and Seri earlier. He looked at her, smiled, and flicked his hair out of his eyes.

“I’ll say the word if I need to.” He murmured. Seri paused for a moment, but then she relaxed, and a smile tugged at her lips

“Deal.” Seri relaxed a little. “It looks like it’s just you and me, Reisi.” Munakata’s violet eyes twinkled with amusement.

“Oh dear.” He laughed when Seri gently punched his arm. “Well then. In an hour, we’ll meet at the auditorium. Tell the others, if you see them along the way.” Tatara took out his phone and checked the time – 7:32pm. Plenty of time. Tatara watched as Seri and Munakata ambled away, Munakata talking animatedly about something and Seri smiling.

“They together?” Izumo asked, turning Totsuka’s attention to him.

“Oh, no. But they’ve known each other since childhood, and run a café together. I work there, it’s how I know them.” Tatara explained, and Izumo nodded in understanding.

“Sounds like me an’ Mikoto.” Kusanagi elbowed the burly redhead, and Tatara grinned. It was like what Seri did to Reisi when he wasn’t paying attention. “Ain’t it?” Mikoto grunted in agreement.

“Sorry if I interrupted your plans.” Totsuka glanced at Suoh, beginning to feel guilty. What if Mikoto hadn’t been looking for him at all? Was that why he was so grumpy?

“You didn’t.” Mikoto sighed – he seemed impartial to sighing – and glanced over at him. “Did we ruin yours?”

“Of course not!” He beamed at them. Izumo’s eyes suddenly narrowed, and he began to rub his chin.

“Where’d you say you knew Seri from, again?” He asked slowly.

“The Silver Cloud.” Totsuka offered, and Izumo whistled.

“Well there ya go. Ever see anyone named Kushina around there?” Totsuka’s eyes widened. They had a regular named Honami Kushina – she was one of Seri’s friends.

“Honami Kushina?” He offered, and Izumo clicked his fingers. The young girl at Mikoto’s side stirred, her eyes lit with interest.

“Honami-san is Anna’s aunt. She was also our teacher in high school.” Totsuka grinned at this, imagining the sweet Honami trying to reign in Mikoto. “She used to invite this grouch and me around to dinner sometimes, when she noticed that we didn’t really have any parents in our life.” Izumo grinned sheepishly, and Totsuka felt a flash of empathy. “We helped her out with groceries and cleanin’, the like. How is she?” Tatara was still trying to digest this information. To think that Honami was connected to Mikoto and his friends – it was a strange coincidence. Honestly, it was a lot to digest. Honami was caring and witty, and often quoted Shakespeare. Izumo’s story didn’t really surprise him – it sounded exactly like something the teacher would do.

“She’s doing well. She only works part time at the high school now, but she also does private tutoring. I taught her a bit of guitar one time!” He was relieved to see that the three companions looked as if they were comfortable in his presence now. The nerves that had been climbing up his stomach began to wilt and he found himself more at ease.

“Woah, you play the guitar, Totsuka-san?!” Yata piped up, eyes round and full of excitement. “I’ve always wanted to learn! Especially the electric guitar, y’know?” That was how he spent the next five minutes having a fast-paced, enthusiastic conversation about guitars with the younger man. Izumo asked a few questions here and there. Mikoto remained silent, watching Tatara with a slightly puzzled expression. Then a _growl_ interrupted them. Izumo laughed as he explained that Mikoto had a bottomless pit of a stomach and the group headed towards the nearest source of food. As it turned out, Izumo, Mikoto and Yata knew the people serving at the stall. He couldn’t help but wonder how many more people they knew at the celebration.

“Hey, Kusanagi-san, Suoh-san, Yata.” The man who greeted the three wore glasses and a derby hat (hardly appropriate for serving food, Tatara noted, but he let it go). He eyed Totsuka and gave him a small nod. Before he could speak again, his co-worker, who wore an easy smile and a cap (what was with all the hats? It was night-time, after all) – interrupted him.

“Hey there, how can I help you?” He asked, pushing right into Derby Hat’s personal space to get to the front of the stall.

“Yō, you ass, you have to let me serve  _someone_. We’re here to share the load, not for you steal the spotlight.”

“Love you too, Masa-chan.” The brunette winked at his friend, who immediately began to sputter and protest.

“ _What did you just call me?_ ”

“Actually, Chitose, Dewa, he’s with us.” Kusanagi interjected, breaking up an inevitable argument just before it could begin. Turning to Tatara and the others, he asked, “Hey, what do you guys want?”

\---

An hour passed far too quickly for Totsuka’s liking. However, he was internally cheering over a small victory. Halfway through the hour, he’d managed to strike up conversation with Mikoto. Mikoto had made talking easier, seeing that he didn’t talk much, and both he and Anna seemed content to let Tatara chatter away to his heart’s content. Totsuka found that he really enjoyed it, coaxing little titbits out of the equally silent Anna and Mikoto. Each word felt like a small victory. Gradually Mikoto’s expression had softened, and even had rewarded him with the tiniest of smiles as he told her about Fushimi’s scary habits. He’d also been introduced to more of Izumo and Mikoto’s friends. Strangely, they seemed to come in pairs. Apart from charismatic Chitose and exasperated Dewa, there was a friendly brunette named Shohei and his childhood friend Bandou, who wore a hoodie and looked as if he hated crowds. They were on their break, but Bandou was to return to the astrology tent and Shohei was going to help with the next contest. Then there was shy Eric and kind Fujishima (Tatara couldn’t take his eyes off of the tall man’s hair, which defied the laws of gravity). Eric was studying history, while Fujishima had no career in mind, was there as moral support. Lastly was a round-bellied, kind-hearted man named Kamamoto. He’d joined them for the rest of the hour, and Yata kept shouting at him. But the two seemed close, and he’d even shared ice cream with Totsuka (Yata yelled at him again, saying that he never shared his food with  _him_ ).

As the six of them reached the auditorium, Tatara instantly spotted Seri, Fushimi and Munakata. The shades of blue that each of them were wearing made them easy to pick out amongst the crowd. Tatara waved to them, and he, Mikoto, and the others followed close behind.

“Tataraaaaaaaaaaaa!” As they grew closer, Tatara saw Neko, who was calling out to them from the auditorium stairs. She ran down the stairs to meet him. “Did you have fun? How was it? What’d you see?” Tatara was about to tell her everything, when he remembered his companions of the past hour.

“I’ll tell you everything later. But first, let me introduce you to my friends!” Mikoto blinked at this, and when Tatara glanced at him over his shoulder, he saw that the redhead appeared to be surprised. “This is Mikoto Suoh, Izumo Kusanagi, Yata –” He saw Yata shoot him a grateful smile as he neglected to say Yatas first name. “And Rikio Kamamoto. They’re really nice.” He saw Seri’s frown dissipate as he said this.

“I’m glad you treated Tatara properly!” Neko told them. “I would’ve kicked your butts if you’d been mean to him.” Anna made a smile noise at this.

“Did you just laugh?” Mikoto asked her softly, and she shrugged.

“ _Anyway_ , you arrived just in time! The contest is about to start.” She exclaimed.

“Contest?” Izumo echoed curiously, rising an eyebrow.

“The costume contest!” Neko announced with a wink. Throwing her hands into the air. “My chance to show everyone how great I am.”

“You’re so vain.” Fushimi sighed.

“Am not!” She retorted, sticking her tongue out at him. “If I was vain, I would be  _gloating._ ”

“Are you participating too, Tatara?” Izumo interrupted. He seemed to have a knack for breaking up arguments before they even started.

“Sure am!” He grinned and put his hands on his hips. “I’m excited!”

“In that case, we’ll come watch. We have nothing better to do.” Kusanagi told them. For a moment Tatara thought that Mikoto would refuse, but then he looked over at Totsuka, his golden eyes curious, and he nodded. “Then it’s settled.” Izumo continued with a lazy sile. Let’s go and get seats. Munakata, Seri-chan?” He turned his attention to Seri and smiled.

“Awashima to you.” She told him, raising an eyebrow at his flirtatious smile. His smile dropped a little, but when it returned it was now one of amusement.

“Very well, Awashima-san, let us humble audience members go and get seats.” No one argued with that, and Anna tugged gently on Tatara’s hand. He looked down at her in surprise. She was staring up at him in earnest, and he knelt down so that he was at her height.

“Good luck.” She whispered, and Totsuka beamed at her.

“Thank you.” He gently patted her hair and her lips twitched upwards for the briefest of moments. Totsuka then straightened up, only to find Mikoto staring at him with widened eyes. Suoh opened his mouth to say something, but Neko grabbed Totsuka’s hand and began pulling him along with her.

“Come on, we’ll be late!” Totsuka shot Mikoto an apologetic smile before hurrying about Neko, Fushimi and Munakata following at a much slower pace until Tatara and Neko grabbed their arms and hurried them along. They made it backstage to where Kuroh was waiting. He was still dressed as a samurai, and he was holding Kukuri’s plastic wand.

“A minute later and you would have missed out.” He told them sternly. He was right – moments later, one of the professors locked the door so that no one could enter. Tatara hurried to get changed, having decided to put his costume in a bag instead of wearing it around. Neko had done the same, and was now dressed as a cat. She wore fake ears and a tail that was tied around attached to the belt around her waist (Shiro’s handiwork), a cute black miniskirt with tights and a fluffy, cream coloured shirt. To finish off the outfit, she wore a collar-like band that had little bells on it, and another on her left ankle. Totsuka didn’t know if it counted as a full costume, but she looked great. Not a very good sign, seeing as she was his opposition. Kuroh and Shiro were both a bit pink in the face, and Totsuka couldn’t help but giggle to himself.

Tatara’s costume had been constructed with Shiro and Honami’s help (the two were a formidable team when it came to sewing). He’d decided to go as a phoenix – his clothes were a patchwork of red, yellow and orange flame-like patterns, and from more than 10 metres away he figured it’d look pretty good. But the real beauty of the costume was the wings. Two pieces of thin fabric, thin a sprinkled with shiny red sequins, stretched from his shoulders to his wrists. When he was dressed, he gave a little twirl and Neko and Kukuri cheered. Shiro was dressed as a mouse, Kukuri as a fairy princess, and Fushimi and Munakata as her guards. Munakata had a tiny smile on his face, as if he found the whole thing amusing, while Fushimi was grumbling about how he couldn’t understand how he’d been roped into this. Kukuri merely flashed him a sweet smile and his grumblings lessened in volume.

“Alright guys, let’s do this! We’re gonna show everyone out there how awesome the Silver Cloud employees are!” Totsuka told them with a grin, and everybody threw in their own phrases of agreement.

“We can definitely do this!”

“Together, we’ll stop them in their tracks.”

“I know we can do this, guys! We’ve worked really hard on our costumes!”

“We certainly possess the skill to do this. After all, you are my employees.”

“This isn’t a shoujo manga. Yes, we – by we I mean _I –_ do possess a certain level of skill and physical attractiveness, but for the  _last time_ , your enthusiasm is making me sick.”

“Shut up, Fushimi!” They all retorted (save for Munakata, who flicked Fushimi’s forehead with a long finger).

“Hey guys, I’ve just had an idea.” Neko piped up suddenly. “How about…whoever comes closest to winning can make everybody else do whatever they want for an hour.”

“What about if someone wins?” Fushimi asked coolly.

“Then they can make everyone else do what they want for twenty-four hours!”

Not surprisingly, they all agreed.

\---

Tatara grinned, heaving a happy sigh. The contest had gone spectacularly – it was just as much fun as he’d hoped. Bright lights, laughter, cheering – and a pair of golden-amber eyes, watching him from the crowd.

“Tatara-san, you’re blushing!” Kukuri giggled, throwing her wand at him. Kuroh, who was sitting next to him, snatched it deftly out of the air.

“How was your hour with Suoh-san?” Kuroh asked, seeing as that was what everyone else was obviously dying to know. Of course Tatara told them everything – meeting Mikoto, Izumo and Yata’s other friends. Getting Anna to warm up to him. Discovering that Honami had been their teacher at high school, Mikoto’s stomach capacity, getting caught up in a dance and twirling and twisting their way through the crowd, looking up at the stars when the lights were dim enough to let the night sky reveal its secrets. He told them about Izumo and Mikoto’s playful antics, how Yata and his skateboard were inseparable, and the smile that Mikoto had given him when he’d thought Tatara wasn’t looking…

“That must have been so romantic.” Neko sighed wistfully, giving him a soft smile. “So do you like this Mikoto guy, Tatara-san?” The brunette rolled over and buried his face in the couch.

“I don’t  _know_ ,” He complained. “I barely know him!” He heard Shiro scoff at this. “Besides, you heard Fushimi-kun!  _‘This isn’t a shoujo manga’_.”

“And I will stand by what I said” Aforementioned astronomy-lover with a bad attitude commented, his feet resting a table.

“You’re cleaning that.” Seri told him pointedly, and he shrugged.

“Whatever.”

“But if it all goes horribly wrong and you can never show your face in public again, then you can live with Fushimi-san!” Shiro added, and when everyone looked at him, his smile became sheepish. “Y’know…tax benefits?” Tatara shot him a mock glare. “I’m kidding!”

“Hey, everyone,” They all turned to look at Neko as she spoke, thankfully taking Fushimi’s glare away from a now-cowering Shiro. “Not you, Seri-san. You didn’t participate so you’re safe! But seeing as  _I_ won the contest, and Kukuri was second, we get to make you guys do whatever we want!”

“For  _twenty-four hours_.” Kukuri added, and Tatara thought she sounded downright evil as she spoke. Well, at least he, Shiro, and Kuroh would be spared a little. Poor Fushimi would probably get the worst of their commands, seeing as he’d been in a continuously bad mood all week.

“First up: all of you have to dress in maid outfits!” The guys all turned to look at each other. Maid…outfits? Tatara felt his stomach twist as he thought of being in a skirt again, and it was  _not_  a good feeling. His smile faltered, but he forced it back.

“Bring it on!” He challenged, but with only half of his usual gusto.

“Hey, hey, keep it down.” Seri told him. “This is a respectable establishment.” But Tatara had a feeling she was trying to distract him.

“Are Maria-san, Klaudia-san and Honami-sensei coming over tomorrow, as well?” Totsuka asked, taking the opportunity to steer the conversation in a completely different direction.

“Mm, I’m sure pretty sure they are. It’s only a half-day tomorrow, remember? Looks like it’s just you, Fushimi and me then.” Seri tapped her hand against her cheek as she thought. “We don’t usually get people on half-days, so the rest of you don’t have to come in.”

“Ah, and Tatara-san?” That was Fushimi again. Tatara looked over at him curiously, wondering what Saru was going to say. “How did you go, with our little…’challenge’?”

“Challenge?” Tatara’s eyes narrowed in thought. Wait…challenge…he groaned as he remembered. “I didn’t get one date, Fushimi-kun. What about you?” With a straight face, Fushimi rolled up both sleeves and held up his hands. On either forearm was a different phone number, and on his palms, too. That didn’t count the three emails he pulled out of his pocket, either.

“How do girls like  _you_?” Neko questioned – even she was surprised. No, that was an understatement.  _Saruhiko Fushimi_ , getting seven contact details? At this, Saruhiko raised an eyebrow and smirked.

“They weren’t all female.” Tatara gaped at him when he said this.  _No way._  But Seri was grinning – could Fushimi be charming if he put his mind to it? “What’s that you’re always saying, Yatogami?  _‘If you try hard, you can achieve great things’_? I guess you really are correct.”

“Don’t use Ichigen-sama’s beautiful words for your own disgraceful purposes!” Kuroh bristled, but Fushimi was unphased.

“I guess my point is proven. And Tatara-san, you really are a useless homosexual when it comes to romance.”

“ _Fushimi-kun!_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - fushimi ain't straight, my friends
> 
> also totsuka bonding with homra is just. Yes. Good.


	3. III - Monochrome

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Maria, your twisted personality is showing..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - what is characterisation and accuracy and good writing

Shiro flopped down onto his bed and yawned, eyes following Kuroh as he bustled around their room, beginning to clean up. It wasn’t even noon yet, but Kuroh was obviously bored. He, unlike Shiro, had finished compiling his notes, done a few hours of study, gone for a jog, and all Shiro had done was make breakfast.

“You don’t have to clean up my stuff as well.” He told his friend, putting down the PDF document he’d printed out. “I can do that.”

“It’s no trouble. Besides, you never declutter probably.” At this Shiro pouted, and tore a sheet out of his notebook. Scrunching it up, he chucked it up Kuroh. It bounced off the latter’s head and onto the desk, and Shiro quietly cheered.

“He shoots, and he scores!”

“My head is not a basketball ring.” Kuroh replied, turning around and raising an eyebrow. “You are ridiculous, Shiro.”

“That’s why you agreed to let me be your roommate.” Shiro replied, rolling over onto his front and sticking his tongue out.

“Only because I’d prefer you annoy me as opposed to someone else.”

“Still, I keep your life interesting.” At this, Kuroh smiled. Shiro felt something in his chest flutter, and wondered if he’d get any response.

“That’s true. It can be entertaining, being your roommate.” And with that, he turned back to Shiro’s desk, beginning to work his way through the huge pile of paper and folders. Shiro watched him with a fond smile, university work forgotten.  _‘He’s so awesome. What’d I do to deserve him again?’_ Then his eyes widened as he realised what he’d just thought.  _‘As a roommate and friend, of course! Besides…why would he even –_ ’ He cut himself off before he could finish that thought. But now that he was on the subject – he couldn’t remember Kuroh ever dating someone, or telling Shiro that he’d had a crush on someone. He rolled a lock of pale hair around his finger, thinking. It wouldn’t hurt to ask, right? If Kuroh…had his eye on someone.  _‘Right?’_

“Hey, Kuroh, who do like?” He ventured eventually, seeing as he concluded that the  _only_  way to be rid of these annoying thoughts was to get his curiosities answered.

“Hmm?” Kuroh stopped what he was doing, startled by the sudden change in subject.

“Y’know, do you have a crush on someone?”

“I – what made you bring that up?” Kuroh didn’t turn around to look at him, and Shiro wondered if he was wearing that cute frown again.

“You’re avoiding the question.” He pointed out, though he didn’t laugh as he spoke. Maybe once he would have laughed and been teasing when he asked, but now…well, this seemed extra-important. Besides, he doubted Kuroh would answer him truthfully if he thought Shiro was just playing around.

“I would prefer not to answer.” This interested Shiro. Prefer not to answer…was that a yes, he did have a crush? No, he didn’t? Maybe? It was agonising to someone like Shiro, who was curious about everything and everyone.

“Kuroh,” He began, deciding that maybe he needed to steer the conversation away from crushes. He didn’t want to make Kuroh uncomfortable though – that wouldn’t be a sign of good friendship.

“What is it?”

“It’s okay if you’re gay.”

There was a pause.

“Tatara-san’s gay, so I’m sure you could –”

“I don’t know.” Kuroh sighed, finally turning around to face him.

“Huh?” Shiro’s nose scrunched up in confusion.

“I don’t know what gender I am attracted to.” Kuroh seemed vaguely uncomfortable with the whole situation, and Shiro felt rather guilty. But  _still_ , he…he had to know. For…future reference.

“Well,” He rolled onto his back and thought for a moment. This was rather selfish of him. But if he could only get an inkling of whether he maybe…had a  _chance,_  then he would know whether to drop this entire conversation and subject and never bring it up again, or whether to give his friend a helping hand. “Then…who do you like the most?”

“The most?” Kuroh echoed, clearly confused. He paused, nibbling on his bottom lip in thought, and sighed as he came to his conclusion. “You and Neko.” Shiro felt heat rush to his cheeks – he hadn’t expected Kuroh to say that! He’d been hoping Kuroh would, but would never think that he’d actually say something like that. This left him flustered, and he rolled over onto his back again, hoping his cheeks weren’t red.

“Y-you mean you like both of us? As in… _like_  like us?” As soon as the words exited his mouth he mentally kicked himself.  _‘Like_ like’? He wasn’t doing too well.

“Are we in middle school?” Kuroh replied, clearly amused. “But I…can’t answer that. Not truthfully, anyway, when I truly do not know.” Was that a… _maybe?_  Shiro hugged himself tightly, the movement unconscious.

“Oh, y-yeah.” He hoped he hadn’t seemed too pleased with Kuroh’s answer. “Besides, who dates two people at once, anyway? That’s…that’s weird.” He felt a sinking feeling in his stomach, but when he turned his attention to his friend again, the raven-haired man merely looked thoughtful.

“I don’t think it’s weird.” Kuroh told him, now beginning to organise the various writing instruments lying in a heap on Shiro’s desk. “Provided that you aren’t cheating, of course. But if all parties involved accept and are alright with their partner dating multiple people, or are alright dating multiple people, I think it might work well.”

“So you’d be okay dating Neko and me?” Shiro blurted, before clapping his hands over his mouth. Kuroh turned back to him again, putting his hands on his hips and raising an eyebrow.

“What are you implying?” Crap,  _crap,_  was he catching onto him? Shiro sat up and began stammering that  _no_ , he  _certainly_  wasn’t implying anything, he was just…curious. And that was that – or so he told Kuroh. Kuroh opened his mouth to speak, but it was then that someone decided to ring Kuroh at the most inappropriate time. Shiro groaned quietly, cursing whoever had called. Dang. Now Kuroh would probably think that something was up – and he was smart, so it wouldn’t take him long to figure out Shiro’s crush on him from what Shiro had just said. “Hello, this is Kuroh Yatogami –” Kuroh told the caller, but it appeared he’d instantly been cut off. Kuroh was still facing Shiro, so the latter clearly saw when his face went from confused, to blank, to horrified. It had been ages since he’d seen so much emotion on Kuroh’s face, and he stood up, wondering what had happened to cause Kuroh’s current expression. Kuroh’s face was drained of colour, and he looked like he was about to pass out.

“Kuroh?” Shiro murmured, taking a few steps towards his friend. Right before his eyes, Kuroh’s legs gave out and he fell to his knees, phone still pressed tightly to his ear. Kuroh’s knuckled were going white from clutching the object in a vice-like grip. “K-Kuroh?” Shiro repeated, voice quavering. There was no response. “ _Kuroh!_ ” Shiro exclamed, panic gripping him. Why wasn’t he – why wasn’t Kuroh answering? He felt a sour taste flood his mouth as his stomach clenched – and this time, it was from fear. Kuroh was still motionless on the ground, trembling. Kuroh began shaking, his phone clattering to the floor as he pitched forwards, eyelids fluttering shut. Shiro scrambled forwards, managing to get to the floor before Kuroh. All he could think of right now was Kuroh.  _Kuroh_ , lying motionless in his arms, pale and unconscious. “Kuroh, wake up.” Shiro pleaded desperately. He began gently shaking the raven-haired man. He grew more desperate when the other didn’t respond. Shiro inhaled sharply, fearing the worst, but then he saw Kuroh’s chest move. His eyes widened, and he reached for Kuroh’s wrist. He had to check…had to see if Kuroh’s pulse was still strong.

Shiro had taken a CPR course once, and switched onto standby as the training he’d taken started flowing back to him. Kuroh was breathing, but shallowly, yet his pulse was strong under Shiro’s shaking fingertips. He pulled Kuroh up from the floor, where he’d lain him to check his airways, and hugged him tightly, murmuring his name. Figuring that it might not have been a stroke or fit, and perhaps something to do with the phone call, he kept one arm around Kuroh’s shoulders and reached for the dropped phone. The person on the other end of the line had obviously been terrified as Kuroh had suddenly cut off, and they were now screaming into the phone. Shiro lifted the phone to his ear and instantly regretted it as a screech of static met his eardrums.

“I – I’ve got him.” Shiro whispered, voice trembling. Then he cleared his throat. He had to focus. For…for Kuroh’s sake. “He – he collapsed, but I think he’ll be okay.” Registering this, the caller let out a cry of relief and inhaled deeply, composing themselves.

“Can I ask who is speaking?” The caller’s voice was frantic. “I’m Sumika Inaba, one of the assisting nurses at the Shizume City Hospital.” Shiro’s eyes widened in shock. A few months ago he, Kuroh, Neko, Kukuri and Sumika had met up for lunch, seeing as they had all been classmates in high school. His stomach twisted again – she must have been terrified, having someone she knew abruptly cut out of a phone call.

“It’s Shiro.” He choked out, and heard her sharp intake of breath.

“Sh-Shiro-kun?” She sounded as shocked as he felt. “Is Kuroh-kun alright? You said he collapsed.”

“I – I think so.” Shiro murmured, head dropping to Kuroh’s. He rested his forehead against Kuroh’s, the adrenaline rush from when Kuroh had collapsed beginning to take its toll on his energy levels.

“Did he hit his head when he fell?” Sumika sounded business-like, but he could still tell she was shaken. This was the Sumika he knew, who looked at everything logically, who reminded him and Neko about working hard when they were slacking off, who got along well with Kuroh because of this. “Have you checked his pulse?” Her questions were coming at an incredibly fast pace, but he knew that she knew exactly what she was doing. She was an assistant nurse, after all.

“He’s breathing and it’s not too shallow, and his pulse is fast.” Shiro relayed in as strong a voice that he could muster. He heard her sigh of relief, and her voice lessened in volume as she repeated this information to someone who was with her – probably a doctor.

“Alright, Shiro-kun, thank you.” She told him, and the formality began to slip from her voice. “Bring him in as soon as possible, please. We need to check him over and make sure that his collapse was just the result of a shock.” At this, Shiro’s eyes widened. ‘ _Shock…?_ ’

“What happened?” He demanded, his voice suddenly rising in pitch. “What could make him collapse like that?” Unfortunately, Shiro had always been good at problem solving, and even now he was beginning to work through the information. Sumika had called from the hospital, where Kuroh’s adopted father was being treated for a terminal illness. That meant something had happened to Miwa…and Shiro had an incredibly strong feeling of dread as he thought about what might have happened. “Ichigen-san…” Shiro began softly. Sumika made no sound on the other end of the line, and Shiro felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. “He…he’s gone, isn’t he?”

“Yeah.” Sumika’s voice shook. “Shiro-kun, I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have told Kuroh-kun like that, I…that was really heartless of me.” She sounded as if she was about to burst into tears.

“It wasn’t your fault.” He soothed. After all, someone would have had to tell him. “I’ll ask Seri-san to give us a ride, and we should be at the hospital soon.”

“Alright, Shiro-kun.” She seemed to regain some of her composure, and he could imagine her putting on a brave front and wiping away her tears. “Take care. I’ll see you soon.”

\---

“…and  _then_  he said ‘Why aren’t you interested, pretty lady? C’mon, I’ll show you a good time.’ Well, by then I was pissed, as you can imagine, as I’d already made it clear that I did  _not_  want his attention at all. So I rammed him between the legs – luckily I was wearing the boots you got me, Seri – and the guy falls to the ground.” The woman flung her silky black locks over her shoulder and took a sip of her coffee, her dangerous, cutting smile growing as she continued. “I tell him ‘Nice try, buddy, but I have a girlfriend,’ and the  _look on his face_  – I should have taken a picture, it was absolutely  _priceless_. He gets to his feet and starts getting all angry – which is a bad idea, honestly. He says ‘you bitch, you shouldn’t dress like a slut if you don’t want this kind of attention.’ Oh, you have no idea how angry that made me.  _Nobody_  calls Maria Yubikiri a bitch  _and_  a slut in the same sentence.” Pale eyes flashed, and Totsuka gulped. He was sure that the guy had died, from the look on her face.

“Maria, your twisted personality is showing…” The blue-eyed woman beside her sighed.

“But, as it turns out, I didn’t have to do anything.” Maria continued, as if she’d never been interrupted. The woman next to her buried her face in her hands.

“Maria…”

“Oh, shush, Klaudia. So, I’ve got my hand raised, ready to give him a good lesson in how he should talk to pretty women, but Klaudia’s got to him before I can do anything.” The ebony-haired woman’s cold smile turned into something mischievous. “I’ve never seen anything like it. Poor guy didn’t know how to react when he got charged by a gorgeous lady four inches taller than him.”

“ _Maria!_ ” Klaudia protested, face flushing red. Tatara, who was still clinging to Maria’s every word, distantly wondered what Klaudia was more concerned about – the comment on her appearance, or that Maria was insinuating that she’d resorted to violence. Klaudia Weismann was Shiro’s adopted sister, who came from Germany. Her voice still carried an accent, and it became more apparent when she was angry or flustered – well, it was definitely shining through now.

“You were amazing, Klaudia. All those training sessions with Seri and Reisi paid off, huh?” Maria patted her girlfriend on the back. “I’m pretty certain his buddies won’t bother us again. Oooh, I wonder if they gave you a nickname.”

“I hope not.” The latter groaned. “I don’t want anything but a professional reputation.” Klaudia was studying to be a biologist, but she had taken several other courses on board as well. It was clear that she did not want word getting out that she’d beaten someone up.

“A professional reputation as my bodyguard?” Maria asked coyly, giving the taller woman a wink.

“We all know that you’re perfectly capable of taking care of yourself, Maria-neesan.” Tatara added, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “I think Klaudia was just angry that he was insulting you.”

“She’s like my knight in shining armour.” Maria added with a shrug. “What can I say?”

“I’m a scientist, not a mythical knight.” But Klaudia was smiling as she said this, and she appeared less embarrassed.

“Whenever you tell us of your various adventures, Maria, I always feel so old.” Honami looked thoroughly amused from her position on the couch. “It’s only eight in the morning and already I’m feeling my bones ache just thinking about your ordeals.”

“Honami-sensei, you’re in your early thirties.” Tatara laughed. “How do you feel  _old?_ ”

“I’m the oldest out of all of you, and even if Reisi-kun acts like he’s fifty years old, he’s still younger than me.  _That’s_ how I feel old.” She leaned over and ruffled his hair. “Sometimes I still think of you as an irresponsible fifteen-year-old, Tatara-kun.” He gave a squawk of indignation, and she laughed. “It doesn’t feel like that long ago when you would follow Seri-chan and Reisi-kun around high school, causing trouble wherever you went.”

“Nothing’s changed.” Seri commented, as she set a steaming hot chocolate before Klaudia. The latter murmured her thanks, but Seri was already turned back to Honami and Totsuka’s drinks. “Even though you only worked part time at our school, you knew all of us better than we knew ourselves, Honami-san.” Anna, who was sitting beside her aunt, blew little bubbles into her red cordial as she giggled quietly. Honami had brought her niece after Seri had mentioned seeing her with Mikoto at the college celebration. She’d seemed happy to see Totsuka again – from what he could tell, anyway. She sat beside her aunt, her legs barely reaching the ground.

“Speaking of school,” Klaudia swung around on her stool so that she had could view her companions better. “How’s school going, Anna-chan? Is it fun? What’s your favourite subject?” Anna blinked at the barrage of questions, and set her drink down carefully. She shrugged, and her gaze dropped down to her hands. Klaudia deflated, but Maria nudged her shoulder and grinned at her.

“Slow down there. Not everyone is a nerd like you.” Klaudia shot Maria a glare, but it didn’t hold for long, and Maria laughed. “Hey, hey, I’m just speaking the truth.”

“Sorry, Anna-chan.” Klaudia now looked sheepish. “I hope I didn’t overwhelm you.” Anna shook her head at this, but looked up at Honami, who gently patted her head.

“She does enjoy school.” Honami told Klaudia. “She just isn’t sure how to say so. I think it’s that it feels fulfilling – is that right, Anna?” Anna looked relieved as she nodded in agreement, and Klaudia’s brilliant smile returned. “She takes an art class, and she loves that. The artwork she brings home are always so colourful! But red is always the main theme of her work.”

“It’s pretty.” Anna began quietly. “I like…how I can see lots of different colours. And…when you…you mix them, you can get more colours.” She was rarely animated when she spoke, but her usually still face was open, and a tiny smile tugged at her lips. “I like how I can make something pretty.”

“You keep that up and you’ll make me cry.” Maria told her. “Well, Anna, if it makes you happy, keep doing it! For as long as you can, and for as long as you want. Maybe one day we’ll have our very own little artist! What do you think, Honami-san?” She grinned at the brunette.

“Definitely!” They all lapsed into silence for a moment, before Klaudia stretched and hopped off of her stool.

“Hmm, you’re about to open soon, right?” She asked Seri. “Do you want us to help out?” She elbowed Maria when she spoke. The dark-haired woman grumbled under her breath, but got to her feet anyway.

“Well...” Seri seemed unsure about asking her friends to help, but she sighed and admitted defeat before she even started arguing. Klaudia’s goodwill could combat her own any day and win, easily. “Do as you wish.” Klaudia grinned at her and Maria rolled her eyes, trying to mask the fond smile that had made its way onto her face. Tatara stretched and got to his feet, but then his eyes widened as he thought over Anna’s words. He began to rummage in his bag and finally pulled out a little red marble. His eyes lit up, and he knelt down before her and grinned.

“Here you go, Anna-chan.” She stared at him for a moment, hesitantly reaching out towards the marble. He smiled at her encouragingly and she clutched the marble close to her chest.

“Thank you.” She whispered, and Totsuka felt his heart swell. He looked up to see Honami smiling at him gratefully. Instead of going to hide behind Honami, as Totsuka had expected she would do, she clutched onto his sleeve, staring contentedly at the marble in her hand. Totsuka petted her hair, and she turned her luminous crimson eyes to him.

“You’re welcome, Anna-chan. Red’s your favourite colour, after all. I think it’s better that you have it.”

“Mikoto.” She murmured, and Totsuka stifled a laugh. Mikoto certainly seemed surrounded by a fiery red aura.

“I declare the Silver Cloud officially open!” Klaudia announced, throwing open the door to the café and flicking the sign hanging on the door so that it read ‘OPEN’. Totsuka got to his feet and went to behind the counter, Anna following him. He began chattering to her, explaining the various machines to her. She stood watching, impassive as always, but her eyes were lit with interest. It didn’t take long for the café to fill up, as people went on their way to work and whatever else they had planned. A few hours later, the café was mostly empty of customers, with only a few hanging around to strike up conversation. Tatara was in the middle of an incredibly interesting conversation with Mrs. Oyabuka about her family of cats when the phone ring. Before he could move to get it, however, the phone rang. Tatara wondered who had called – it was rare for them to get phone calls on half-days.

“I’ll get it.” Seri called from behind the counter, sweeping over to the phone to answer it. “Hello, this is Seri Awashima. You’ve reached the Silver Cloud café, how may I –” Tatara got to his feet and looked at her curiously. Seri didn’t say anything else, letting the caller talk, but he saw her face pale, and her eyes widen in what could only be described as shock. “Alright, I’m on my way. Don’t call anyone else for the time being, we don’t need everyone racing to the hospital and scaring the staff.” Despite her attempt to lighten the mood, her voice was clipped. Tatara knew then that the situation with whoever had called was incredibly serious.

“Seri?” He asked cautiously. Honami was frowning. She peered over the counter to look at Anna, and made a small motion for the young girl to come to her. Anna hurried over to her aunt and Honami gently put her arm around Anna. Honami had seen a few of her colleagues and friends, and had been laughing and talking happily with them. Now, however, she was grim.

“It’s…Shiro.” Seri’s replied eventually, heaving a deep sigh. “He wants a ride to the hospital.” There was a cry of shock, and Klaudia stumbled backwards from where she was by the door, the blood draining from her face and any breath she had left leaving her in a rush. 

“Sh-Shiro?” She choked out, feeling the bottom drop out of her stomach. Her heart was pounding in her chest, sending blood racing around her body in a way that made her feel lightheaded. “What happened? Is he hurt?” Tatara’s heart clenched as he saw her panic. The two siblings were incredibly close, and were both incredibly protective of one another. Maria had reached her side at this point, and wrapped her arms around Klaudia’s waist protectively, eyes fixed on Seri, demanding an explanation.

“He says he’s alright, just shaken.” Seri told them, folding her arms over her chest as she spoke, seeing as she’d put the phone down. “It’s Kuroh – he fainted, but apparently it’s just shock…but Kuroh needs to go to the hospital to get checked over. Shiro says he’s awake but barely responding.” Seri’s lips drew together and unconsciously, her eyes flicked over to Totsuka. Totsuka nodded in response. He knew what it was like to be disconnected from the world like that. Luckily, he’d managed to develop some ways to get himself back to the present, which hopefully would be able to help Kuroh.

“I’ll drive.” Klaudia’s voice was steely, and Totsuka felt uneasy. He knew only too well how prone Klaudia was to recklessness when someone she cared about was hurt or in trouble. Though Maria and Klaudia laughed about what had happened last night, he was sure that Klaudia had rushed forwards without a second thought. Klaudia would have thrown all caution for her own life and wellbeing out the window if she thought something was about to happen to Maria. If Klaudia drove them to the hospital, they’d probably be in danger of having an accident.

“Like hell you will.” Maria said firmly, and Tatara felt relief begin to wash over him. Maria would make sure Klaudia didn’t do anything irresponsible – she’d always been like that, for all of them. Even Seri was prone to being hot-headed, and when she was, Maria was there to make sure she stayed safe. “Seri, we’ll look after the café. You and Tatara go.” Klaudia was about to protest, but Maria put her hand over her girlfriend’s mouth. “Shiro’s alright, Klaudia. You don’t have to worry –”

“I care about Kuroh, too!” Klaudia burst out, removing Maria’s hand. “He and Shiro have been friends for as long as I can remember, so he’s always been around. He’s my friend, too.”

“Exactly.” Maria’s grip on Klaudia’s waist tightened slightly. “Klaudia, you and I both know how reckless you get when you’re worried about someone.” As she spoke, Seri tapped Totsuka on the shoulder.

“Let’s go.” She murmured, giving Maria a nod of thanks. Maria raised one hand and saluted her, before letting it drop onto Klaudia’s shoulder. As the two left the café, Tatara heard Maria beginning to calm Klaudia, and caught a glimpse of Anna’s crimson eyes huge and unfocused. He knew she must have been thinking of the worst-case scenarios – so he mouthed ‘he’ll be fine’ and let Honami hug her tightly.

As Tatara slid into the passenger seat and Seri began to start up the car, he realised that so far, he hadn’t reacted. He stared out of the window as they drove along, becoming aware that he felt…numb. As this realisation hit him, Tatara began to panic. He remembered when he used to be numb all the time – that was a dark time for him, when he couldn’t smile, couldn’t think, couldn’t  _feel._  It was thanks to Reisi that he’d been able to seek and receive help, but the memories still lingered.  _‘It isn’t like that.’_  He told himself sternly.  _‘Stop being a pessimist, or you’ll end up like Fushimi-kun.’_  That drew a small smile from him. As he began to sort through the various thoughts roaming about his mind, he figured that he felt numb because he was in denial. That made perfect sense, so he began to relax a little. It was just unthinkable, to Totsuka. For as long as he’d known Kuroh – which was a long time – the young man had been the strongest out of all of them. Mentally, physically, emotionally...save for Seri, Maria and Munakata, of course. Kuroh could change the mood of his companions in seconds – he could lift the mood, erase tension, lessen doubts, and yet could keep them all under control if they were being too rowdy. He had few weaknesses, one of them being his adopted father, Ichigen Miwa –  

Totsuka inhaled sharply. No…it couldn’t be. And yet what he was thinking seemed the most logical explanation for Kuroh’s collapse.

“Seri…” He began, wetting his dry lips with his tongue. “You don’t think…something’s happened to Ichigen-san, do you?” She glanced across at him quickly before returning her attention to the road, but her silence gave him his answer.

\---

When they got to the apartment block, a wide-eyed Shiro was waiting for them, with a half-conscious Kuroh in his arms. Kuroh was awake, but it seemed he wasn’t paying any attention to the world around him. He looked completely out of it, like he was in a whole other world. It took all three of them to half-carry, half-usher Kuroh into the car, and as they set him down on the backseat as carefully as they could, he groaned. The three exchanged hopeful glances, but Kuroh only looked at them blankly. Totsuka gently ruffled his younger co-workers hair sadly and felt his shoulders droop. It was even worse seeing Kuroh in person – he couldn’t be as optimistic now. Tatara took the passenger seat, and Shiro sat in the back, Kuroh’s head on his lap. At first they were all silent, but then Tatara clenched his hands into fists.

“I can’t believe it.” He murmured, voicing his earlier thoughts. “Kuroh…he’s so strong. I’d never expect him to collapse like this.” He’d thought he’d be able to help, but after seeing Kuroh, all confidence had left him.

“It happens to the best of us, Tatara.” Seri sighed, but she was chewing on her bottom lip, something she did when she was worried or deep in thought. “What happened, Shiro? You may as well practice for the doctors.” Shiro was a silent for a moment, but then he began to absentmindedly run his hands through Kuroh’s hair and inhaled deeply.

“We were talking, and then the phone rang. He answered it, but he seemed really…shocked. When he looked at the caller ID, y’know? He didn’t get a word in before the other person – our friend and old classmate, Sumika-chan – started speaking. And…about a minute after he picked up, he started shaking. It wasn’t really noticeable at first, but then…then he just…fell. His legs stopped holding him up and he felt to his knees, and he started shaking. I thought he was having a fit or something, but then he fell forwards and…and when I got to him, he was unconscious.”

“Did…did something happen to Ichigen-san?” Tatara asked softly, unable to turn and look Shiro in the eye. He heard Shiro sniff, and remembered seeing the latter with red-rimmed eyes. He felt guilt shoot through him – he’d been too focused on Kuroh to see how Shiro had been faring.

“Y-yeah.” Shiro’s voice was muffled. “He…he passed away early this morning.” Seri gripped the steering wheel tightly and Tatara gasped.

“But – but he was on life support!” Totsuka exclaimed. “Unless it failed, or someone in charge of his fees told the hospital to get him taken off–” Tatara cut himself off, eyes narrowing. “But Kuroh wouldn’t do that.” As far as he knew, Kuroh was the only one who had been paying Miwa’s hospital fees. That was why he’d been working so hard, pushing himself often beyond his limits.

“He wasn’t the only one.” Shiro choked out, and Tatara’s eyes flew open in shock. “Yukari Mishakuji, Kuroh’s adopted brother…he must have…K-Kuroh…he’ll be furious when he finds out.” This sent a chill racing down Tatara’s spine. He’d seen Kuroh when he was severely annoyed and stressed, but furious? He’d never experienced that, and he had a very strong feeling he didn’t want to ever witness it.

“We’ll worry about that later.” Seri told them sternly. “Look, we’re here.” Totsuka looked up from where he’d been nervously twisting his hands, and saw the impressively-sized hospital building before them.

As Tatara stepped out of the car, and young woman with sky-blue eyes rushed over to him, dark locks restrained in a tight bun.

“Excuse me,” She began, before Seri and Shiro stepped out of the car. Then her attention turned to Shiro, and she heaved a sigh of relief.

“Shiro-kun!” She exclaimed, and the two immediately began to exchange information at a rapid rate. He guessed that this was Sumika Inaba, the assisting nurse who was friends with his younger co-workers. Suddenly Sumika began jogging back to the hospital – the emergency entrance, Tatara noted – and disappeared inside. She returned moments later by some tall men carrying a stretcher. Tatara squinted as they came closer. One of them had a round but muscular build, and short, scruffy blond hair. No…it couldn’t be…could it?

“K-Kamamoto-san?” He stammered, as the stretcher-bearers reached the car.

“Eh, is that you, Totsuka-san?” Rikio’s eyes were wide. “I didn’t think I’d see you around for a while.”

“Rikio-san, we have someone to take care of.” His companion reminded him with a sigh.

“Oh, yeah…sorry.” He replied meekly, ducking his head. It was slightly amusing, seeing as his companion didn’t look the least bit intimidating. Kamamoto nodded to Totsuka and without further ado, the three hospital staff lifted Kuroh onto the stretcher.

“Do any of you have any familial relationship to Kuroh-kun?” Sumika asked, from next to the stretcher. Kuroh’s eyes were half-open, but he still didn’t seem to be connected to reality at all.

“No.” Seri answered with a sigh. “I’m his boss, Tatara’s his friend, and Shiro’s his roommate.”

“I – I see. In that case, who wants to come in? We’ll only allow one person.” Sumika told them. Seri and Tatara both looked at Shiro, who stepped forwards.

“I will.” His voice was hollow, so dead and empty compared to what it usually was.

“We might get you checked over too, Shiro-kun.” Sumika told him quietly, before turning back to Seri and Totsuka. “You can wait in the waiting room for a bit, I’m sure Shiro-kun will let you know all the news.” And with that, the stretcher-bearers began their short journey back to the hospital, with Sumika ushering Shiro before her.

“What a way to start the day.” Seri huffed. Tatara could tell she was masking her concern as best as she could, for his sake, as well as her own.

“He’ll be okay.” Totsuka told her, trying to be cheerful. “Everything will work out! I’m sure of it.”

But as he closed his eyes, Kuroh’s blank face swam into view, pale eyes dull and glassy. Tatara shuddered, clenching his fists. Kuroh would be alright. He  _had_  to be. He was…he was _Kuroh_. He was meant to be bustling around, scolding Neko and Shiro, getting into staring contests with Fushimi, waking Tatara from his daydreams…still, Miwa had always been Kuroh’s driving force. What would happen now that that motivation was gone?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - when i said no one dies.........................................
> 
> yukari finally gets a mention. That Prick. 
> 
> CAN I JUST POINT OUT  
> a/n at the beginning of the original chapter: "this ch was super rushed i’ll edit it later most definitely"  
> i mean technically......i did..............
> 
> also no wonder i got burnt out before, each chapter is like 5000 words and i'm dying


	4. Silver

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who knew how badly the past could come back to haunt him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - i wrote this in a day i literally want to die it's over 6000 words wtf @ me why
> 
> also BEFORE u yell at me for….later events, I was reading saru’s wiki page and (keep this in mind it's very important): “While working, he thinks about Totsuka and nearly tears up.” LIKE. DUDE.
> 
>  

 

Kuroh’s eyes fluttered and he put a hand to his head. His head was throbbing, and his tongue felt like sandpaper. He rubbed the back of his hand across his eyes. He opened his eyes to find himself staring up at a bare white ceiling.

_What…?_

This was nothing like his and Shiro’s apartment. He immediately tensed, slowly sitting up and taking stock of his surroundings. He was in a hospital room, he knew that much from the pristine interior and sparse furniture. His eyes landed on Shiro and Neko, who were asleep in chairs on opposite sides of the bed. Shiro’s head was resting by his chest, and Neko had her head pillowed on her arms by his hand. He raised his hand absentmindedly and began stroking Neko’s hair. Her face, which had been creased into a frown, began to relax. Kuroh was still trying to remember what had happened. Yesterday had been his day off. He’d been doing university work, then had done some cleaning. He’d been talking to Shiro, and then…his eyes narrowed in thought. His phone had rang. And then…

_“Kuroh-kun, it’s your father…he passed away.”_

Kuroh froze. His heartbeat stuttered and his breath hitched, catching in his throat. No…that couldn’t be. His father had been on life support. In a coma, yes, but _alive._ He’d just visited him the day before. His father had been in a stable condition, everything had been going well. It simply didn’t make sense. The only reason he would have died was if he’d been taken off the life support. But Kuroh was constantly checking on his father, had kept his share of the fees up to date, so it simply wasn’t conceivable. His father couldn’t be dead. He couldn’t. It wasn’t possible. 

Unless… 

“Yukari.” He hissed, his chest growing tight with rage. He clenched his jaw, feeling his jaw creak. His eyes burned with unshed tears. He hadn’t even gotten to say goodbye, hadn’t been able to tell his father he loved him and was grateful for everything he’d done for Kuroh. He hadn’t been able to hear his voice once more – now he never would be able to again. A strangled sob left his mouth. He clapped his hand over his mouth, biting down on his skin to try and distract himself from the ache in his chest that was steadily growing into an agonising pain. Suddenly tears were flowing down his face, hot and unfamiliar and uncontrollable. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d cried.

“Kurosuke…?” Neko asked sleepily. She sat up and blinked slowly, rubbing her eyes. She looked up at him through half-lidded eyes before she was shocked into wakefulness. “Kurosuke!” She looked completely at a loss of what to do. Kuroh wished he could stop crying but his sobs were now wracking his body. Neko bit her lip and then scrambled onto the bed, wrapping her arms around him. Kuroh froze for a moment, and his eyes widened. “It’s okay.” She whispered. “I’ve got you.” Kuroh nodded wordlessly, letting his head fall onto her shoulder.

“He’s gone.” Kuroh finally choked out. Neko’s arms tightened around him. “I can’t believe he’s – he’s gone.” He felt another wave of tears threaten to overwhelm him.

“Breathe.” Neko pulled back from him and reached up to cup his face in her hands. “Look at me, Kurosuke.” Her voice was very soft, lacking the usual energy she was filled with. He looked into her eyes, finding her odd-coloured gaze filled with determination. She took a deep breath, and then exhaled. “Breathe with me. C’mon.” This time, when she inhaled deeply, he tried to do his best to do the same. Soon he found that his breathing was easier to control, and that he felt the huge tempest of emotions within him was beginning to subside, becoming a dull ache. She smiled at him. “Better?” He nodded wordlessly, and she curled up next to him, leaning her head on his chest. He rested his chin on her head, his eyes flicking over to Shiro. His roommate was still fast asleep. Kuroh gently placed his hand on Shiro’s forehead, feeling himself relax a little more as he registered Shiro’s temperature as normal. There was a knock on the door, and Kuroh’s head snapped up. If his adopted brother walked into the room, Kuroh didn’t know what he would do.

The door swung open softly and Totsuka poked his head around the door.

“Hey,” He murmured, his usually carefree smile looking particularly forced. “I brought Klaudia and Maria with me.” Kuroh nodded, and Totsuka stepped into the room, Klaudia and Maria following close behind. Neko offered the three a small wave, but didn’t leave Kuroh’s side. Klaudia hurried over to them and threw her arms around the pair.

“I’m so sorry, Kuroh.” She whispered, before pulling back and giving him a look of concern. He nodded numbly. He tried to smile, but his face felt stiff. “Where’s Shiro?” She asked, looking around the room.

“He’s still asleep.” Neko pointed to Kuroh’s other side, where Shiro was still deep in sleep. Klaudia sighed, looking exasperated, and shook her head.

“Of course he is. He’s always been a deep sleeper.” Klaudia relaxed a little then, relieved that her brother was alright. Maria came up beside her and wrapped an arm around her waist.

“Long time no see, Kuroh. How’re you holding up?” Kuroh shrugged at this, and Maria nodded with understand. “I figure these two aren’t going to tell you, but we’ve come to take you home.” Kuroh nodded. He still hadn’t spoken a word. He took another look around at the hospital room. He’d prefer to curl up in his bed at home or go to the Silver Cloud as opposed to sit around in here. It was too easy to get bogged down in his sadness here.

“Thank you.” He tripped over the syllables, his voice husky from crying. Neko slid off the bed and watched him anxiously. Kuroh inhaled deeply. He knew that he couldn’t stay like this forever. Life would go on, and it would go on without him if he wasn’t careful. He thought of Ichigen. Ichigen smiling at him. Ichigen patting his hair. Ichigen teaching him how to use a katana. He closed his eyes, filling his mind with memories of his adopted father. This time, he would use his memories of Ichigen to push on forwards. He knew that would have been exactly what Ichigen would have wanted. Filled with determination, Kuroh stood up. He walked around the bed to the sleeping Shiro and gently shook his friend’s shoulder. “Shiro.” He called. Shiro stirred, but did not wake. He sighed and shook his head. He didn’t want to stay in the hospital for a moment later, and he also didn’t want to wake Shiro up. Shiro looked as exhausted as Kuroh felt. With practiced ease, he scooped Shiro up in his arms to carry him bridal style.

“He should be the one carrying you.” Maria chuckled, and led the way out of the hospital. Kuroh felt comforted by Shiro's familiar warmth, his scent, his face. He brought Shiro closer to his chest, cradling Shiro like he was a precious jewel. 

\---

Totsuka was not feeling like his usual self. Hell, that was one incredible understatement. He hadn’t been able to sleep that night, he’d been so worried about Kuroh. The hospital staff had originally wanted to send him home, but according to Shiro, after he’d woken up he’d been reacting so violently to anyone that tried to come near him they’d sedated him and had decided to keep him in overnight. Kuroh had seemed to make peace with himself after Totsuka, Klaudia and Maria had taken him, Shiro and Neko back to his apartment. The last Totsuka had seen of him, he’d been meditating, with Neko sleeping by his side and Shiro making tea for him. Totsuka knew he was in good hands, and could only hope that Kuroh would be able to keep himself out of the dark pit of despair that yawned so close by. Totsuka knew how easily loss could thrust you into a seemingly bottomless hole.

Totsuka had only worked a half-day and had been ambling around town since he’d gotten off his shift. Fushimi had watched him go with a hint of concern in his eyes, and Totsuka had felt guilty seeing that even cold Fushimi was worried about him. Totsuka would have gone home but his apartment seemed all too empty and lonely right now, and he knew that if he went into his apartment alone he probably wouldn’t leave for a few days. He’d decided that going for a walk would be a good idea – he could get some fresh air and exercise and it would give him a chance to sort through his many thoughts. He’d ended up at the park. It was autumn, and the leaves of the trees were glorious shades of red and yellow. He wished he had his camera. Maybe he’d come back on his next day off, spend a couple hours looking around and taking photos. He nodded to himself, glad to be able to have a momentary reprieve from his worries about Kuroh.

“Totsuka?” The gruff voice startled him out of his thoughts with a shock. Totsuka whirled around to find Mikoto watching him, hands in his pockets, red hair tousled and golden eyes still as fiery as ever.

“Suoh-san!” He exclaimed in response, unable to stop his face from lighting up. He felt his heart skip a beat as Mikoto’s intense gaze bored into his own.

“Just call me Mikoto.” The redhead replied after a pause. As Totsuka nodded, Mikoto’s eyes flicked around, most likely looking for other Silver Cloud employees.

“Just me this time, I’m afraid.” Totsuka rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, and then he himself did a double take. Now that he thought about it, why was Mikoto alone? “Where’s everyone else? I know Anna is with Honami –” He saw Mikoto raise an eyebrow for a moment before his face returned to its usual emotionless state. “But what about Kusanagi-san and Yata?”

“Settin’ up for tonight.” Mikoto replied with a shrug. “I’m on my way to go see them.” Totsuka tilted his head curiously to one side.

“Setting up…? Where do they work?” He queried, unable to help but feel intrigued.

“A bar. Homra.” Mikoto replied, before stifling a yawn.

“Can I –” Totsuka hesitated for a moment. What if Mikoto said no? Why would he even want to have Totsuka’s company anyway? He probably was bored of him already –

“Come on.” Mikoto had already started walking. He turned to look at Totsuka over his shoulder. Totsuka couldn’t help but stare at him for a moment, before he came to his senses and hurried after him.

“Thank you!” He grinned at Mikoto, finding that some of the tension was already seeping from his shoulders. Mikoto glanced over at him from the corner of his eye.

“You look happier.” Totsuka nearly missed his quiet words. He looked up Mikoto to find

“Y-yeah.” He hadn’t thought Mikoto would have noticed. Had he really been looking so downcast before? “One of my friends – he was in hospital overnight.” Totsuka shook his head and sighed. “I think I’m going to go out of my mind, I’m so worried.” He smiled then. “But he’s doing okay now, which is good. But I also feel happy ‘cause…I really like the leaves this time of year – the leaves are so pretty, I really wanna come and take pictures of them.” He’d already begun rambling. “But mainly ‘cause you’re here, so of course I feel happier. Being around you is really nice, like – sort of calming, y’know?” Then he stopped, pausing to draw breath. Totsuka winced as realised how much he’d been talking. Then his face suddenly flushed red. _‘Of course I feel happier’? What was I_ thinking _?!_ “Sorry.” He grinned sheepishly, trying to ignore the anxiety that was unfurling in his stomach. Mikoto was going to think he was weird and – and what if Mikoto didn’t even like him that much? Noticing his now-downcast expression, Mikoto stopped suddenly and placed his hand on Totsuka’s head. He let his hand rest there and Totsuka froze, his cheeks feeling like they were on fire. Seeming satisfied with the result, Mikoto pulling away and continued on his way. Totsuka hurried to keep up with him, trying to process what had just happened.

“Keep talking.” Mikoto was silent for a while then, but he looked hesitant, like he wanted to say something else but wasn’t sure how to. Then he inhaled deeply, and his eyes briefly flicked over to Totsuka once again. “I like it.” Totsuka’s heart gave a great leap at this. When had he been told that before, by someone who he hadn’t met that long ago? Usually it took people a while to get used to his frenetic and spontaneous way of talking, but for Mikoto to say that…Totsuka felt his heart warm, and a small smile tugged at his lips. Encouraged by Mikoto’s words, Totsuka inhaled deeply and began to speak.

“I work at the Silver Cloud, run by Seri and Munakata-san.” Totsuka felt himself begin to relax as he thought of his friends. “There’s a few other workers here and there but mainly it’s Neko, Kuroh-kun, Shiro-kun, Kukuri-chan, Fushimi-kun and me. Neko, Kuroh-kun and Shiro-kun are basically inseparable, and Kuroh-kun and Neko work in the bakery next door – oh, Munakata-san owns that too. Fushimi-kun and I usually make the drinks, and Kukuri-chan and Shiro-kun usually handle taking orders and things like that. Fushimi-kun can be super creepy though, always showing up outta nowhere. He’s usually quite grumpy, but sometimes it’s easy to shake him outta it. He’s nice, though, got a heart of gold under all that ice.” Totsuka grinned up at Mikoto. Mikoto’s shoulders were tense, but Totsuka didn’t think much of it. The redhead wasn’t looking at him, but Totsuka could tell he was listening. It was a nice feeling, to _feel_ like you were being heard, to not just have people smile and nod without really listening at all. “Oh, and Anna-chan came in the other day, with Honami-sensei.” Mikoto nodded silently. “Maria and Klaudia came visiting too, which was nice…”

“Yubikiri?” Mikoto queried. Totsuka couldn’t believe it. Was this going to be yet _another_ coincidence, where everyone knew each other for Totsuka and Mikoto?

“Yeah. Do you know her?” Mikoto shrugged, mumbling something about a guy named Chitose. “She helped out for a bit, and then –” Totsuka then trailed off with a sigh. “Seri got a call from Shiro-kun – Kuroh-kun collapsed. He was a wreck. They ended up keeping Kuroh-kun in overnight, and we took him home yesterday. And today I had a half-day, so I’ve just…been wandering around, I guess.” Totsuka shrugged. “I didn’t really wanna stay at home.” He laughed nervously when Mikoto gave him a quizzical look. “Feels too empty, y’know?” To his surprise, Mikoto nodded.

“I understand.” The redhead then halted in his tracks and pointed ahead to a bar on the corner, ‘HOMRA’ printed in bold letters above the door. “We’re here, Totsuka.” Tatara bit his lip as butterflies erupted in his chest at the way Mikoto said his name. Mikoto held the door open for him and Totsuka grinned at him before darting inside. Totsuka stepped into the bar and looked around. For some reason, it felt inexplicably like…like _home._ He didn’t know how to explain it. He felt warm and comfortable, and an unexplainable sense of belonging.

“My, my, what a gentleman you are, Mikoto.” That was Izumo’s teasing voice. Totsuka looked around to find him polishing glasses behind the bar. “Hey there, Totsuka.” Izumo’s easy smile put Tatara at ease.

“Hey! Totsuka-san!” That was Yata’s voice. Totsuka looked around to find the shorter man lounging on a couch in the corner of the room and gave him a wave. Beside him was…

“Anna-chan!” Totsuka exclaimed. She looked up, and her cat-like eyes widened. She gave him the tiniest of waves, then held up the marble he’d given her. Yata looked over at Totsuka and grinned.

“You must be some kinda genius, Totsuka-san. I ain’t ever seen her make friends with someone so quickly." Totsuka’s eyes widened at this.

“What brings ya here, anyway?” Izumo asked. Mikoto shrugged.

“Bored. Then I ran into Totsuka.” Izumo raised an eyebrow at his friend’s vague response, and then rolled his eyes.

“Some use you are. Anyway, Totsuka, ya want anything?” Izumo moved onto polishing another tumbler.

“Uh –” Totsuka and alcohol really didn’t mix. “Got anything non-alcoholic?” He asked with a laugh. Izumo snorted.

“Of course I do. Do ya know how many underage kids try to sneak in here?” Then Izumo’s brow furrowed. “Ya ain’t underage, are ya?” Totsuka giggled at this and shook his head. Izumo gave a sigh of relief. “Ya don’t look it, but I’ve gotta be sure, y’know.” Totsuka gave a nod of understanding. Soon he found himself sandwiched in between Mikoto and Anna on the couch, watching Yata and Izumo clean the room. Totsuka found that making conversation with the four was easy and he found himself laughing more than ever, his worries about Kuroh forgotten for the moment.

“Totsuka.” The brunette instantly looked over at Mikoto, feeling himself break into a smile before he even thought about it. “It’s…good, having you here.” Totsuka’s eyes softened.

“I really like being here.” He murmured in response, and Mikoto swallowed at this. Izumo then sniggered and waltzed over to elbow Mikoto, who glared at him.

“You getting’ cozy over here, then?” Mikoto fixed him with a glare that would have made anyone else flinch, but it only made Izumo smile. Izumo turned his attention to Totsuka. “You’ll have to come back, Totsuka, it’s been a real treat havin’ ya here.” Totsuka felt his chest warm.

“Yeah!” Yata was equally full of excitement. “Can you bring your guitar next time, Totsuka-san? Can you teach me?”

“Of course I can.” Totsuka ruffled Yata’s hair. He looked around at his four new companions. “To be honest, I was having a kinda rough day.” But he found himself grinning instead of shying away. “Thanks to you guys, I feel great now. Thank you!” Izumo raised an eyebrow and looked over at Mikoto.

“Keep him.” Izumo told him, and Totsuka felt his face flush. Izumo then looked at his watch. “Ah, hell. Mikoto, we’ve gotta take Anna-chan back now. Honami’ll be mad otherwise.” Mikoto looked over at Totsuka.

“See you around.” He got to his feet and ruffled Totsuka’s hair.

“I’ll be in touch.” Izumo told him with a grin, leaving Totsuka confused, but altogether not unsurprised. “Oh, Yata, you’re in charge.” While Yata instantly jumped up and began cheering, Izumo leaned closer to him. “I’d rather _you_ be in charge than Yata, if I’m honest. One of the guys should be here soon, so could ya make sure he doesn’t break anything or set anything on fire?” Izumo looked so serious that Totsuka had to stifle a laugh.

“S-sure.” He promised, and Izumo gave him an easy smile.

“Thanks, kid. See ya.” Izumo held out his hand to Anna, who glanced at him for a moment before trotting over to Tatara and tugging on his sleeve. Pleasantly surprised, Totsuka knelt down and patted her hair.

“Take care, Anna-chan. Have fun at school. I might see you around, okay?” She gave him the tiniest but sweetest of smiles and showed him her marble. It sparked red in the light, and her smile grew a bit wider. “It’ll be your good luck charm.” Totsuka promised, and she nodded. “Oh!” He rubbed his chin as if in thought. “Call me Tatara, if you want.” Her eyes widened a little and she nodded again, seeming pleased.

“Goodbye, Tatara.” She whispered, and Totsuka couldn’t help but start beaming.

“You’ll blind people with that smile if you’re not careful.” Izumo commented, but he seemed relieved that Anna had another person who she felt comfortable around. “Alright, let’s head off. Yata –” His gaze turned steely as he turned to the young man currently attempting to do a handstand in the middle of the room. “Touch _one thing,_ and I _guarantee_ your time on this Earth is over.” He smiled sweetly and Yata fell onto the floor in his haste to evade his icy stare. Soon Izumo was shepherding Anna out the door. Mikoto cast a last glance at Totsuka, a smile tugging at his lips, his eyes warm molten pools of gold. Totsuka was captivated by his gaze, unable to look away.

“Take care, Totsuka.” He murmured, and Totsuka smiled softly at him.

“You too, Mikoto.”

\---

Hanging out with Yata was fun, albeit tiring. Totsuka thought he handled Yata pretty well, all things considered. He chalked it up to having experience with his younger co-workers, who were always running around enthusiastically and often causing trouble. Totsuka had come to like Yata though – he was easy to talk to and made Totsuka laugh. Underneath his bold and confident exterior, he was kind and cared a lot about his friends. He loved skateboarding, and he was still waiting for the growth spurt he’d been promised by puberty that still hadn’t come (Totsuka didn’t have the heart to tell him it was probably a little late now). Totsuka’s phone beeped suddenly. It was Seri. His eyebrows rose.

> **Seri:** Where are you?
> 
> **Totsuka:** at a bar
> 
> **Seri:** oh no
> 
> **Totsuka:** hey, hey, there’s no drinking involved
> 
> **Totsuka:** unless……………………….
> 
> **Totsuka:** apple juice counts?
> 
> **Seri:** You had me worried.
> 
> **Totsuka:** i’m depressed, not an alcoholic

Seri took a suspiciously long time to respond.

> **Totsuka:** wait do you actually think i have a drinking problem
> 
> **Seri:** No, but you can never rule out everything.
> 
> **Totsuka:** wtf where’s the loyalty???
> 
> **Totsuka:** anyway i’m at a bar w/ Mikoto and izumo
> 
> **Totsuka:** we met them at the uni event
> 
> **Seri:** I remember.
> 
> **Seri:** Is it going well for you, then?

Totsuka bit his lip and smiled.

> **Totsuka:** i’m having fun, i’m really glad i didn’t stay at home
> 
> **Seri:** Good! I’m proud of you.
> 
> **Totsuka:** (*´ω｀*)
> 
> **Totsuka:** but yeah don’t worry about me
> 
> **Totsuka:** btw why’d you ask?
> 
> **Seri:** I needed to know if I needed to drag you out of your apartment.
> 
> **Seri:** Also Fushimi is looking especially annoyed.
> 
> **Totsuka:** tell him to meet me near the homra bar and i can take him to get dinner or smth
> 
> **Totsuka:** it’s my turn to babysit
> 
> **Seri:** If anything, I think it’s more him babysitting you.
> 
> **Seri.** But he listens to you more than anyone else, so I think you’re the best bet for setting him straight.
> 
> **Totsuka:** seri i’m a raging homosexual why would _i_ be able to do that
> 
> **Seri:** Clearly it’s wishful thinking.
> 
> **Totsuka:** ( ՞ਊ՞)
> 
> **Totsuka:** where’s the faith?
> 
> **Seri:** Gone, along with my current ability to function.
> 
> **Totsuka:** have a rest seri, take it easy
> 
> **Totsuka:** see you tomorrow bright and early!
> 
> **Totsuka:** (★^O^★)

“Alright.” He flashed Yata a smile. It would be nice to not spend the evening alone, after all. Maybe he’d be able to coax Fushimi a little bit more out of his shell. Fushimi was always for more open when it was just the two of them, anyway, which Totsuka was grateful for. He was glad that he was able to be Fushimi’s friend – he knew the guy needed one, even if it didn’t seem like it. Yata was watching him curiously, and Totsuka knew it was time to get fired up. He raised his fist into the air. “Let’s get this place ready to go, shall we? Homra…action!” Yata repeated the action, and soon they were both chanting, “go, go, Homra! Go, go, Homra!” As they worked.  

\---

Totsuka finally stopped to stretch, looking around at the bar with a glimmer of pride. He was sure Izumo would be happy when he returned. Yata was behind the bar, checking all the bottles and taps were full. That was when the bell rang, signalling a visitor. Totsuka’s heart leapt. Maybe it was Mikoto! He whirled around to find Fushimi standing in the doorway, his face unreadable. He stalked into the bar, his eyes fixed on Totsuka. Fushimi was full of tension, and Totsuka could practically see the unease rolling off him in waves. Fushimi looked completely out of his depth and moved stiffly, his face a cold and emotionless mask. He looked around, seeming to be looking for something – or someone. He relaxed for a moment when he saw the room was empty. That was when his eyes landed on Yata and he froze. Totsuka's eyes narrowed in confusion and he began to move slowly towards Fushimi. That was when Yata turned around. When his eyes landed on Fushimi, a fire lit his hazel gaze and he clenched his teeth.

" _Saru."_ He hissed, and Totsuka's eyes widened with shock. Fushimi’s eyes flashed with recognition and he gritted his teeth. For a moment his face showed turmoil, but the next his face had smoothed into a haughty mask.

"Mi-sa-ki." Fushimi sung the syllables with a sneer. But Totsuka knew he was shaken. Yata had suspicion written all over his face, and he grimaced at the use of his first name. Totsuka had a very, _very_ bad feeling about this. It felt like a fuse had just been lit, connecting the two, and it was only a matter of time before they went up in flames.

"Why're you here?!" Yata demanded, his hands balled into fists. "I thought you knew better than to come back here." The words were spat out with acrid venom. Fushimi pulled himself up to his full height and glared down at Yata. Yata did the same, though he just came above Fushimi’s shoulder.

"I came for Tatara." The use of his first name shocked Totsuka, and Yata was immediately on his guard, looking between the two with narrowed eyes. Totsuka was more confused than anything. Fushimi had never used his first name – not that Totsuka hadn't given him permission, but he knew that Fushimi always liked to take a step back from people, to never completely open himself up to them, to use their last names only as a sign that he didn’t want to get too attached. Seeing how genuinely confused Totsuka was, Yata’s eyes softened when he looked at the hobbyist. He turned his gaze back to Fushimi, eyes hardening in an instant.

"He did, Yata." Totsuka desperately tried to break the tension between the two. "I asked him to meet me near here. He must have guessed I would be around somewhere." Yata deflated slightly at this. He turned his attention back to Fushimi, his eyes still glinting with animosity. Fushimi then clicked his tongue. _Tch._ "Fushimi-kun." Totsuka murmured warningly. Just _what_ was going on here?! “C'mon, what’s –”

“Sorry.” Fushimi then grabbed Totsuka's hand and pulled the hobbyist to him, his eyes never once leaving Yata. "I needed to tell you something." Totsuka's eyes widened a look of total confusion twisted his face. Yata clenched his jaw, looking like he wanted nothing more than to rush forwards and shake Fushimi.

“Fushimi-kun, what –”

"I wanted to see you." Fushimi cut him off, bumping his shoulder against Totsuka’s. Despite the affectionate words and actions, Fushimi sounded utterly detached. He didn’t break eye contact with Yata, watching as the shorter man's face twisted into a scowl. Tatara couldn't help but wonder if the words were directed towards Yata, and not him. Yata seemed to be shaking with fury but he turned away, stiff with anger.

"Fuck off, Saru." He growled, and an icy smile spread across Fushimi's face.

"That's how it always is with you, isn't it?” Yata bristled at this. “You throw words around and then turn your back. You care too much about yourself to do anything else." Fushimi sneered, and Yata froze.

"You're the one who's always running away. It's _pathetic_." Yata spat, storming off towards the counter. Fushimi's hand tightened uncomfortably around Totsuka's as he clenched his other hand into a fist. Fushimi waited until Yata glanced over his shoulder before tugging Tatara towards the entrance, still clutching Totsuka's hand. Fushimi's hands were clammy and sweaty, and due to their proximity, Totsuka could see the pain swirling in Fushimi's eyes. The pair slipped out of the bar, Totsuka not wanting to risk another confrontation, and Fushimi wanting to escape. Fushimi kept walking, hurrying off with his shoulders hunched. He didn’t let go of Totsuka's hand. Totsuka sensed that it was best to just leave Fushimi be, until he was ready to speak. The sun was beginning to set, but it was obscured by clouds, barely shining through. There was the distant rumble of thunder, and Totsuka's face fell. He hadn't thought it was going to rain today! Fushimi was still staring off into the distance, not seeming to have noticed.

"It looks like it's going to rain." Totsuka piped up eventually. Fushimi's head snapped over to his and he blinked a few times. Totsuka sighed and looked around. "I, for one, don’t want to catch a cold. Want to come to my place before we get soaked? I don’t want us to catch a cold." Totsuka said this with a grin, but his eyes weren't smiling. Fushimi nodded, and Totsuka set off towards his apartment. That was when the sky began to darken. Totsuka sighed and quickened his pace until he and Fushimi were jogging. “Nearly there.” He panted after a few minutes, casting another glance at the horizon. That was when the sky opened up and rain began pouring down.

\---

Fushimi was curled up on Totsuka’s couch, a blanket wrapped around his body. He was wearing one of Totsuka’s shirts and was nursing a hot chocolate. Totsuka watched him anxiously for a moment, rubbing his hair dry with a towel. Eventually Totsuka sighed and went to sit down next to Fushimi. He ruffled Fushimi’s damp hair and then plonked the towel on his head, mussing up his hair while trying to get it dry. Fushimi tolerated this for a moment before turning to Totsuka and raising an eyebrow. With a laugh, Totsuka removed the towel and slung it over his shoulders. He leaned back against the couch, waiting to see if Fushimi would speak.

“Thank you.” Fushimi muttered eventually. Totsuka nodded.

“Are you going to tell me what that was about?” His voice was low, serious. Fushimi sighed and rubbed at his face, putting his mug on the floor and hiding his hands, which had begun to nervously fiddle with his clothing. 

“I suppose I owe it to you.” Fushimi muttered, largely to himself. “I guess you already know about my dirt bag of a father.” Fushimi spat out the last word like it burned him, and Totsuka couldn’t help but clench his fists. He knew about Niki Fushimi all too well. “I met Misaki in middle school. Of course I rebuffed him at first.” Fushimi seemed to relax slightly. “It took him…a while, but I guess somewhere along the way we became inseparable.” He laughed coldly at this. “One day, when I was sick, he showed up at my house, wanting to look after me.” His voice grew bitter. “My father was there, and he told Misaki – told him he’d fill his mouths with insects.” Totsuka’s eyes widened with horror. “I ended up having to shove Misaki out of the house so he’d be safe from my own _fucking_ father.” Fushimi was trembling with rage. Totsuka reached out and let his hand rest gently on Fushimi’s shoulder. Fushimi stiffened for a moment, but then he relaxed into the touch. “Not long after that…we ended up living together.” The anger left his voice. “It was like we were in our own world. How could…how could I not end up loving him, after that?” He turned to look at Totsuka, who was watching him sadly.

“There’s no happy ending here, is there?” Totsuka murmured, and Fushimi clenched his jaw.

“Then we met Suoh’s gang.” Fushimi hissed. “And Misaki…” He bit down on his lip. “Misaki went right after them. He forgot about me.” Fushimi shook his head and laughed bitterly. “It was somewhat my fault – I didn’t show him how much I –” Fushimi gritted his teeth. “ _Cared._ And then he was gone. He went right off without me! He was too drawn in by Suoh.” Totsuka inhaled sharply and Fushimi fixed his burning blue eyes on Totsuka. “You saw how easy it is.” He turned bodily to face Totsuka, his gaze filled with an intensity that rooted Totsuka to the spot. “Suoh took Misaki away from me.” His face was inches away from Totsuka’s. Totsuka was frozen to the spot, feeling rooted in place. He could feel Fushimi’s warm breath on his face. “Now it looks like he’s going to take you, too.” His voice was very soft. Totsuka remembered Fushimi clutching his hand like a lifeline as he’d stared at Yata. He remembered Fushimi not letting go, even after they’d left the bar. Who knew how badly the past would come back to haunt him? 

“Fushimi –” 

“Saruhiko.” Fushimi muttered, and then his lips were on Totsuka’s, warm and chapped and – _hold on._ Totsuka’s eyes widened. Fushimi…Fushimi was kissing him. _Fushimi…_ was kissing… _him?_ His mind struggled to get a grip on what was actually happening. Fushimi was kissing him with passion and fire, the same energy he’d been filled with…when he’d talked to Yata. Totsuka felt like he understood now. As Fushimi paused to draw breath, Totsuka gripped his arms tightly.

“You’re not just thinking of me right now, are you?” He whispered, and Fushimi’s eyes glinted with something that looked suspiciously like tears. “You miss him.” Totsuka murmured, and then Fushimi was leaning over him again.

“I’d miss you.” Fushimi breathed against his lips. “If you left, I’d fucking miss _you.”_ Totsuka felt understanding rush through him. Fushimi felt like he had finally found another constant in his life, and now it looked like everything was going to slip from him again. _“I didn’t show him how much I cared.”_ Fushimi had spat. _He thinks this is the only way to keep me from disappearing._ Totsuka realised with a shock. So he wrapped his arms around Fushimi, feeling the younger man stiffen in his arms. 

“I’m not going anywhere.” Totsuka promised fiercely. Fushimi laughed bitterly at this, but didn’t pull away.

“How many times do you think Misaki said that to me?” Fushimi fisted his hands in Totsuka’s shirt. “How many times do you think he _swore_ to me that we’d always be by each other’s sides?” Fushimi was shaking again. “But he lied.”

“Saruhiko.” Totsuka looked Fushimi right in the eyes. The younger man stiffened at the use of his first name. “I’m not going _anywhere._ I’ll stay for you, and for Seri, and Neko, and Kukuri-chan, and –”

“You don’t know that.”

“You don’t have to kiss me just to keep me here.” Totsuka told him. He paused for a moment. “And you _can’t_ use me as a replacement.” Fushimi’s brows drew together, like he was somehow confused. “Come on, admit it. You thought of him –” Fushimi made a noise of disgust and got off the couch.

“How can you really be that blind?” Fushimi sounded tired for a moment. His shoulders sagged. Totsuka’s brow wrinkled in confusion, but he got to his feet as Fushimi headed for the door.

“You’ll catch a cold.” Fushimi shrugged at this.

“Does it look like I care?” He took another step away from Totsuka.

“You say all this stuff about wanting to keep me here, and then you go to leave!” Fushimi turned around, eyes burning.

“You think I don’t know that?!” Fushimi yelled, eyes flashing. “Go on then – call me _pathetic!_ Call me a _coward!_ ” He was trembling. "Go on, say it. You think I'm a piece of shit. Everyone else does, so why should you think any differently?!" Totsuka inhaled deeply. Fushimi was standing there before him, hunched in on himself, like he expected Totsuka to scream at him or punch him. But Totsuka reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder.  

“You’re not.” Totsuka told him softly, his eyes not leaving Fushimi's. Fushimi froze, his chest heaving. “What you’re really scared of is yourself.” Totsuka reached out and curled his fingers around Fushimi’s wrist. “Stay here. Don’t leave now - it’s late, it’s cold, and I’ll be worried sick about you.” Fushimi tried to tug away from him, but Totsuka stood his ground. “Stay.” Fushimi’s eyes widened, and Totsuka wondered how long it had been since someone had asked that of him. It was like earlier, when Mikoto had said he’d liked hearing Totsuka talk. Feeling his heart skip a beat, Totsuka wrenched his mind back into the present. “Stay here, Saruhiko. Even if you’re afraid of yourself, I’m not.” Totsuka tried to look confident. “Please.” Fushimi watched him silently, his face uncharacteristically open.

“Fine.” He looked more defeated, if anything, but Totsuka didn’t plan on giving up on him that easily.

“Want to learn how to play guitar?” Totsuka heard Fushimi groan at this, but he laughed, knowing Fushimi was trying to appear as aloof as always. “You’ll be a pro by the time I’m done with you.” He promised, and Fushimi rolled his eyes.

\---

Mikoto watched impassively as Yata stormed around the bar, his body filled with crackling electricity and anger. He felt his thoughts drift to Totsuka. The brunette had left without saying anything, seemingly, which for some reason feel disappointed. He still didn’t know when he’d get to see Totsuka next.

“Careful ya don’t break anything.” Izumo warned Yata, watching him with his arms folded across his chest. After Yata fumbled yet another glass, he sighed and plucked it out of his employee’s hands. “What’s wrong, Yata? Anyone’d think Fushimi had just shown up again.” Yata stiffened, and Izumo felt his stomach sink. “Yata…” He said warningly.

“He came to get Totsuka-san. Fucking monkey. You shoulda seen how confused Totsuka-san was when he grabbed his hand and –”

“What?” That was Mikoto, in a low, gruff tone that made Yata gulp. He knew how Mikoto distrusted Saruhiko, particularly after how he’d hurt Yata and turned his back on the family Homra had begun. A family Fushimi had been part of, and had left. Yata turned to Mikoto, finding that the redhead’s golden eyes were glinting dangerously.

“Don’t worry about it, Mikoto-san. Didn’t look like it meant anything to Saru. He only did it to get at me, and he used Totsuka-san to do it.” Mikoto’s eyes narrowed and he looked like he was trying to get a grip on himself. He sighed, then, and he sat back, staring up at the ceiling. Izumo glanced over at his friend.

“Feelin’ threatened, eh, Mikoto?” The redhead grunted noncommittally in response, and Izumo laughed. Looking sly, he leaned over the counter, knowing he now had Mikoto’s attention. “How ‘bout I get you his number?” Mikoto’s head snapped up and Izumo laughed again, brushing a fake tear from his eye. “No need to look so eager.” He teased, as Mikoto tried desperately to appear disinterested. “Not foolin’ me for a second, Mikoto.” He called, watching as Mikoto pretended to be asleep.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - this was more just character building and silver clan fluff and also   
> angst  
> haha  
> bet you didnt see that coming  
> also saru. my boy. don't be mean to yata
> 
> and don't worry friends, mikototsu is still endgame. 
> 
> i hope you enjoyed this update (took 2 years to come out, 1 day to write, logic doesn't apply anymore) and let me know what you think :0


	5. V - Crimson

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - i bet everyone thought i wasn't going to update for another 2 years
> 
> BUT HERE I AM
> 
> also can i just say it has been 2 weeks since i last updated i actually managed to do something right for once

Fushimi woke with a groan, blinking sleep from his eyes. His eyes narrowed in confusion as he tried to determine where exactly he was. He wasn’t at home, he was lying on a couch with a blanket tossed over him, his head resting on a pillow, or something soft. Fushimi idly wondered why everything was blurry before he reached up and felt that his face was bare. As his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he gradually made up a figure above him. Fushimi stiffened. He reached over the side of the couch and scrabbled around for his glasses. He felt a thrill of relief as he found them, and slid them onto his face, and found that was looking up at a familiar face. “Tatara.” He muttered, and rubbed his face with a sigh. That must have meant he’d fallen asleep on Totsuka. _Ah, hell._ He thought, gingerly sitting up while being careful not to disturb Totsuka. He knew it wouldn’t be embarrassing for his colleague, but it sure as _hell_ was flustering him.

He spotted Totsuka’s guitar leaning against the side of the couch and clicked his tongue. How embarrassing. He’d fallen asleep to Totsuka’s playing. He couldn’t help but think over the events of yesterday. Seri had turned to him after his shift had finished. He’d changed out of his uniform and had been ready to go home, but instead he’d just been sitting and brooding. Seri had raised her eyebrow for a moment before turning to her phone. He hadn’t thought anything of it until she’d told him that Totsuka wanted to have dinner with him. He’d scoffed at this. It had just been babysitting duty, he knew that. Seri, Totsuka and Reisi all thought it was their ‘duty’ to look after their younger colleagues. But then she’d told him Totsuka would meet him near a bar. Homra. He hadn’t been able to stop the flash of anger that had run through him. Homra, where Suoh reigned. Homra, where he’d lost Misaki. There was no doubt in his mind that Suoh had invited Totsuka to come visit. Totsuka, with his brilliant smile, with his obnoxious positivity and cheerful laugh.

Totsuka, who refused to give up on him. Even when he’d lashed out or insulted Totsuka or pushed him away. Even when he’d ended up breaking things in his anger over his father or tried to provoke people into hating him. Even then, Totsuka hadn’t given up on him.

Fushimi had taken off at a run. He knew where Homra was. It was still burned into his brain. He hadn’t even thought twice before bursting inside. There was no Suoh, which both surprised him but filled him with relief. If Suoh thought he had something to do with Totsuka, Fushimi knew he’d be in for hell. Instead there was Totsuka, who looked relaxed and carefree as always, and… _Misaki._ Fushimi would be lying if he hadn’t been glad to see the fiery young man again. And yet they’d ended up fighting again, as they always had, the last few years before they’d parted for good. Fushimi had been filled with betrayal and hurt and anger and instead of trying to calm down, he’d done what he always did. He’d lashed out in the only way he knew how. But when he’d pulled Totsuka to him, felt the warmth of the brunette beside him, Fushimi had felt something else stir in him, too. And as he’d tugged Totsuka out of the bar, he only wished he’d been able to see Suoh’s face. He could imagine Suoh’s golden eyes flashing at him dangerously, sending a quiet warning.

_Mine._

That was what those golden eyes would have told him. And Fushimi would have tightened his grip on Totsuka’s hand, stared at Suoh unblinkingly, and would have spat that same word at him. In all honesty, he should have expected his fate would mingle with Suoh’s again, should have realised as soon as Totsuka had been rambling like a love-struck fool about Suoh. Drawn back into the present as Totsuka mumbled something in his sleep, Fushimi turned his blue gaze to the brunette. He had to admit, he was still in shock over Totsuka’s response to his actions. He was different from Yata, who would have flown into a rage, or Seri, who would have unconsciously patronised him. Fushimi’s eyes drifted to Totsuka’s lips and clenched his jaw. He’d kissed Totsuka. _That_ had been rash of him. It wasn’t a decision he prided himself on. Still…he wished he could have seen Suoh’s reaction to _that._ Then Suoh would have known how it felt to have someone you cared about taken away from you, right before your eyes.

Still. Why had he kissed Totsuka? Fushimi clicked his tongue and pushed his glasses up his nose. Maybe it had just been to spite Suoh. Maybe he had been thinking of Misaki, like Totsuka had said. But even Fushimi couldn’t deny the fact that he viewed Totsuka differently from everyone else. He couldn’t really deny that he cared about him – that much he knew already. He liked seeing Totsuka smile. He felt…pleasant, when Totsuka turned his attention to him, and him alone, looking at _only_ him with his eyes bright. Fushimi felt a sinking feeling as he began to make sense of this.

“ _Fuck._ ” He whispered, nibbling on his bottom lip. He couldn’t have feelings for Totsuka. Totsuka was…a far greater person than he was. It was like Fushimi was attached to a fuse. Everything would just build and grow and get too much and then he would explode. That was how he’d lost Misaki for good. He couldn’t do that to Totsuka. He glanced over at the hobbyist, who was still sleeping peacefully. Totsuka’s face was completely relaxed in sleep. He didn’t look energised and radiant, which Fushimi knew was often an act Totsuka put on.

So maybe it was the fact that he understood Totsuka – more than he cared to admit – that had drawn him in. They were similar, in many ways, but while Totsuka chose to fling his pain outwards in the form of laughter, Fushimi turned in on himself and shut everyone out. He smiled bitterly at this. He reached out, against his better judgement, and let his hand rest on Totsuka’s cheek. It was incredibly intimate, and Fushimi hated himself all the more for it. That was when Totsuka’s eyes flickered open. Fushimi froze. He licked his lips and swallowed hard. “Tatara.” He whispered. Totsuka smiled sleepily at him.

“Saruhiko.” The brunette murmured. “You’re up early. Is it time to go to work?” Fushimi shook his head. He went to withdraw his hand, but Totsuka caught his wrist.

“Are you leaving?” Fushimi clenched his jaw at this. That had been his plan – to run back home, to shut himself away and bury his feelings in petty games and alcohol, but he knew Totsuka would have different plans. He slowly shook his head. “You start work at the same time as me, right?” Fushimi winced at this. Totsuka was shrewd, he’d give him that. “I have a favour to ask.”

“What would that be?” Totsuka grinned at him, clearly no longer tired.

“Wait and see.”

Fushimi rolled his eyes. He didn’t like the sound of this.

\---

He couldn’t believe he was doing this. Fushimi openly scowled at Totsuka.

“Why the fuck are we here, again?” He growled, glaring up at the _Homra_ sign above the bar.

“To apologise for yesterday, of course!” Totsuka offered brightly. Fushimi knew there wasn’t any getting away then.

“You just want to see Suoh.” He couldn’t keep the disdain out of his voice. He’d meant to sound bored, or aloof, but by the way Totsuka’s eyes flicked over to him, he knew he’d given away a piece of information that Totsuka was storing away in his mind about him. “Whatever.” Fushimi grumbled, turning away from his colleague. Totsuka peered through the door and seemed to light up and he started waving, grinning madly. Fushimi couldn’t help but feel his chest begin to thrum with envy. He would never be able to make someone – _anyone –_ be that happy to see him, platonically or otherwise. Meanwhile Suoh, Misaki...they could do that easily. He caught himself by the time Totsuka turned around to him, swallowing his envy and instead forcing his face into an impassive mask.

“C’mon, Saruhiko!” Totsuka called, and he sighed, making sure to scuff his feet as he made his way to the door. Izumo’s face appeared at the door. He was happy to see Totsuka, but when his eyes landed on Fushimi his smile became plastic. Fushimi could have rolled his eyes. Why did everyone make their feelings so _obvious?_ Totsuka murmured something to him and Izumo sighed. He nodded to Totsuka and disappeared back inside. Totsuka held the door open and looked back at Fushimi. “You coming?” It almost seemed like a challenge. Fushimi nodded stiffly. Once inside, he found himself being scrutinised by not only Izumo, but Suoh, Misaki, Kamamoto, and the silent Anna. “Saruhiko and I have come to apologise for yesterday.” Totsuka explained, and he saw Suoh’s eyes narrow at Totsuka’s use of Fushimi’s first name. “Saruhiko was quite rude to Yata, which I’m sorry for.”

“Why’re you sorry?” That was Suoh’s voice. His eyes were fixed on Totsuka. He didn’t spare Fushimi a second glance, and this lit a fire in his chest.

“Yeah.” Misaki did spare a glance for him, but it was full of anger. “He used you to get at me, Totsuka-san. Don’t apologise for that dick.” Totsuka laughed at this and rubbed the back of his neck, seeming sheepish. Fushimi knew that Totsuka was thinking of his and Misaki’s story, about everything the two had been through together. 

“Now, now, I suppose I was a bit at fault too. Right, Saruhiko?” Fushimi knew that now he would certainly have to speak. Now he not only had to apologise, but indivertibly defend Totsuka – the latter of which would make Suoh’s gang relax a little bit more around him. Fushimi’s eyes narrowed. He always seemed to underestimate Totsuka. He felt like smirking as he realised how carefully Totsuka had orchestrated his little plan.

“They’re right, Tatara.” He watched as Misaki nodded, and the fire in Suoh’s eyes dulled to a smoulder. “But will you stop shit-talking me to him?” Fushimi muttered. Just because he had to apologise, that didn’t mean he had to play all goody-two shoes. “He already knows me. Better than _–”_ He turned his gaze to Misaki as he spoke. “ _Any_ of you.” He made sure to emphasise that word. He saw them all deflate a little at this, especially Misaki. _Good._ Fushimi thought sourly. _Let them remember how they neglected me._ “I will apologise.” He glanced at Tatara, making it clear to the others this was only for Totsuka’s sake. “But in fairness, Misaki isn’t faultless either.” He saw how the skateboarder bristled at this. “I’m sorry for retaliating.” He shrugged, and saw Totsuka gave him a look. Fushimi sighed and swallowed his pride. “And I’m sorry for taking it too far.” He then clicked his tongue. _Tch._ He looked over at Misaki. “Sorry.” He muttered. Misaki’s eyes widened in shock. There was a pregnant pause.

“Me too.” Fushimi could only stare at him. It was as though they’d just apologised, or at least acknowledged, the past, for the first time in…what, years? Fushimi’s eyes flicked over to Totsuka, and he found that the brunette was smiling gently at him. How annoying. Totsuka had been hoping for this to happen. But then again…he cast his eyes back over to Misaki. It had felt…surprisingly good. Even some of the tension in the air had broken.

“Alright.” It was Suoh again. Fushimi’s mood instantly nosedived. Even though he’d formed a truce with Misaki again, it didn’t mean he had to tolerate the redhead. Fushimi watched as Suoh ruffled Totsuka’s hair, offering him a small but genuine smile. Fushimi felt a flicker of jealousy in his stomach. Yet…he hadn’t seen Suoh look that way at anyone before. His golden eyes weren’t on fire like they usually were, they were calm and clear, like a pond bathed in the sun’s radiance on a windless morning. Fushimi flinched when those golden eyes met his own icy blue ones. Suoh gave him the tiniest of nods, letting him know that his presence would be tolerated. Totsuka followed the redhead’s gaze and gave a little laugh.

“Mikoto, you seem just like a king!” Suoh blinked at this, turning to Totsuka with one eyebrow raised.

“Hm?” The usually tough redhead looked comically quizzical, eyebrows drawn together, a frown on his face.

“Yeah!” Totsuka grinned. “You just have this…y’know, aura. You seem so powerful and strong and cool.” Fushimi wanted to gag. He could not _wait_ to get out of here.

“Mikoto, a king…?” Izumo mused, rubbing his chin. “Personally, I can’t see what you’re on about, Totsuka.” The blonde scratched his head and sighed. But Fushimi could see it. He saw it in the way Suoh drew people to him, the way they respected him or feared him, the way they would lay down their lives for him. It was so, _so_ annoying. Fushimi made a show of checking his phone.

“Tatara.” His voice cut cleanly through the bar. “Time for work.” He looked around the bar again, only to find Misaki look at him. “What?” Fushimi narrowed his eyes. “Stop looking at me.”

“I – I wasn’t looking at you!” The skateboarder insisted. He looked away and pouted, something that Fushimi remembered once finding adorable. “But – uh – thanks, I guess, Saru. See you around, maybe. I mean I won’t be looking out for you, but if I happen to run into you –” Fushimi hid a smile. Misaki hadn’t really changed that much, then. It was…oddly comforting.

“See you around.” He looked over towards Totsuka again and stiffened. Suoh had his hand on Totsuka’s shoulder and was murmuring into his ear. Totsuka was looking at him like there was no one else in the world. Jealousy reared its head again, gnawing at Fushimi’s stomach, clawing at his abdomen. Suddenly Suoh looked up, eyes meeting his and burning into his own. He remembered imagining a moment like this before, in Totsuka’s apartment.

_He could imagine Suoh’s golden eyes flashing at him dangerously, sending a quiet warning._

Mine.

_That was what those golden eyes would have told him. And Fushimi would have tightened his grip on Totsuka’s hand, stared at Suoh unblinkingly, and would have spat that same word at him._

But now he was in that very same situation, he felt himself unable to move. He took a step forwards.

“Tatara.” No response. He felt some strange sense of desperation rise up in him. What had Totsuka promised him? That he wouldn’t leave? Wouldn’t get taken away by Suoh? And now look. He stepped forwards, coming as close to Suoh as he dared, closer than he had since he’d known the formidable man. Suoh’s eyes warned him to stay away, and Fushimi smiled coldly at him.

“Ah, Saruhiko, sorry…” Totsuka looked genuinely apologetic. But Fushimi could not be swayed now. He curled his fingers around Totsuka’s arm. The fire in Suoh’s eyes clashed with the ice in his own.

“Tatara.” He stressed Totsuka’s first name, knowing this was sure to rile the one Totsuka had labelled as a ‘king’. He knew it would irk Suoh that a _traitor,_ a _coward_ like him had been able to get so close to someone like Totsuka. As Fushimi pulled away with Totsuka in tow, he felt a flash of triumph. But he could feel Suoh’s eyes burning into his back, and knew that he had won the battle, not the war.

\---

_Roughly 1 Week Later_

\---

“Hey, Kuroh.” That was Shiro’s voice, uncharacteristically soft. Kuroh was leaning against the railing on the balcony, letting the wind run through his hair. He turned to look at Shiro, eyes softening as he saw how concerned Shiro as. “You doing okay?” Kuroh shrugged.

“Better than I had expected.” He offered truthfully. “I’ve been meditating a lot, like he taught me.” Kuroh smiled, then. “I think I’ve come to realise that I had almost…accepted he was gone, for a while now.” It had been a week since Ichigen’s death, and both he and Shiro had taken the week off. Neko had spent the first few days with them, and every couple of days a few of their colleagues from the Silver Cloud would come to visit. “To be honest, I think he would be antagonised by the thought of me moping around for so long.” Kuroh knew that if he stopped for too long, he would fall into a slump. “I want to go to work tomorrow.” Plus, it would be good, to be around friends. Many of his colleagues had also dealt with loss in their lives, so he knew that he wouldn’t just be met with pity, which was relieving. Pity…it was hard to stomach at the best of times. Kuroh saw that Shiro’s eyes were wide with amazement, and he couldn’t help but chuckle. “I am not helpless, Shiro.” Shiro nodded, but his brow was creased into a frown.

“You did collapse.” Shiro murmured, and Kuroh sighed at this.

“It _was_ shocking, Shiro.” He reached out and rested his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “But thanks to you, Neko, and everyone, I believe I will be alright.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “Of course, even I do not expect that I will recover soon. But I can at least deal with what I can.” He looked up towards the sky. “I know that is exactly what he would have wanted.” A sad smile tugged at his lips. “He always knew what to do.” Shiro leaned his head on Kuroh’s shoulder, offering silent support.

“Alright.” Shiro gave a sigh of relief, and the heavy atmosphere between them lightened. “We’ll go to work tomorrow.” Shiro then grinned up at Kuroh, his eyes sparkling for the first time in days. “I think Munakata-san will have been hopeless running the bakery without you, Kuroh.” Kuroh couldn’t help but laugh at this.

“You may very well be right.” He looked down at Shiro and felt his heart flutter. “Shiro –” But he cut himself off.

“What’s up, Kuroh?” Shiro’s amber eyes were curious. In all honesty, Kuroh didn’t know _what_ he’d wanted to say. How could he even attempt to put how he felt into words? Kuroh bit down on his lip and wrapped his arms around Shiro, pulling him close. “K-Kuroh?!” Shiro exclaimed, voice muffled. But then he smiled, wrapping his arms around Kuroh’s waist.

 _I think I love you._ Kuroh thought, his heart beating loudly in his ears.

\---

 

Seri’s eyes narrowed as she watched Fushimi and Totsuka. Fushimi had always been closer to Totsuka than the rest of the staff, but it seemed as though now they had a silent understanding, like something had inexplicably linked them together. Fushimi seemed relaxed around Tatara now. His eyes were trained on Totsuka’s face. Seri watched as he mumbled something and Totsuka threw back his head and laughed. A small smile tugged at Fushimi’s lips. Seri’s brow creased into a frown as she watched Totsuka wrap his arm around Fushimi’s shoulders. Usually he would shy away from the contact or look disgruntled, but he seemed oddly at ease. Seri figured she’d clued onto what was happening, and her stomach was sinking the more she thought about it. If she was honest, she had never seen this coming. She knew about Fushimi and Yata. She knew how guarded Fushimi was, and how it had taken years to even get him to open up to her. Now here he was, accepting Totsuka’s close proximity, his face strangely open. This threatened to become a problem she would not be able to control. The bell above the door tinkled, signalling the arrival of a customer. Seri couldn’t help but be relieved, turning away from her employees and to the door.

Golden eyes met hers, and she immediately frowned. How this would play out, she had no idea. She noticed that Anna was clutching Mikoto’s hand and staring at her curiously, and Seri felt her face soften.

“Hello, Anna-chan.” She greeted the young girl warmly, smiling when Anna offered her a small wave.

“Mikoto! Anna-chan!” That was Totsuka, who was full of energy. Seri glanced over the brunette, her smile growing when she saw how genuinely happy Totsuka was. She hadn’t seen him genuinely smile so easily in a while. It was a blessing, really, that Mikoto could make him smile like that. Seri felt herself unconsciously relax, some of the tension in her shoulders lessening. Then her eyes landed on Fushimi, whose face was an icy mask. His eyes gave away his feelings – they looked stormy, full of a strange mix of jealousy and despair. She turned back to Suoh, watching as he gave a curt nod of his head to Fushimi before turning his attention to Totsuka.

“Totsuka.” His voice was as gruff as ever, but his golden eyes were mellowed, reminding Seri of rich honey. He noticed Seri staring at him and turned to her. “Awashima, wasn’t it?” Seri nodded.

“Suoh.” She returned. Sensing that there was no hostility being directed at him, Mikoto gave her a nod.

“Same as last time?” Totsuka queried, and with that, Mikoto’s attention was lost to her. Mikoto gave a nod of assent and Totsuka’s grin widened. “Are you sure I can’t tempt you into something more exciting than black coffee?” A smirk tugged at Mikoto’s lips.

“Surprise me.” Totsuka’s eyes flashed at the prospect of a challenge. “I’m assuming you know me well enough by now.” Seri watched as Fushimi’s face twisted into a scowl that would have soured milk as Totsuka’s cheeks flushed bright red.

“Do you want hot chocolate, Anna-chan?” Totsuka asked. The young girl’s crimson eyes lit up and she gave Totsuka a questioning look. He tapped his nose and grinned at her, and she giggled quietly. If Seri hadn’t been close to Anna, she didn’t know if she would have heard it. Mikoto and Anna settled themselves at a table and Totsuka set about making the drinks with added enthusiasm. Seri caught Fushimi glaring openly at Mikoto and clenched her jaw. She had to do something to diffuse Fushimi’s bad mood – if that was even possible – before something happened. She beckoned Fushimi over to her with a finger.

“Fushimi and I are going to check on Reisi.” Seri called, watching as Totsuka gave her a thumbs up. Before Fushimi could protest she pulled him into the back of the store, stepping through to the bakery through the door that connected the two businesses. Reisi was running the bakery mostly by himself, with Kuroh restricted to only a few shifts a week. Neko and Shiro were helping Reisi as well, but they would often take time to look after Kuroh. While Seri didn’t begrudge them this at all, it meant that Reisi was left alone. Usually when she walked in he was discussing conspiracy theories with a less-than eager customer or inviting people to help him complete a jigsaw. In the store room at the back of the store, she turned to Fushimi, who was glowering at her. “Control yourself a little better.” She began, with a shake of her head. “I don’t care what history you’ve got going on, but he is still a customer.” Fushimi nodded.

“I’ll be courteous.” He sighed eventually. “I’m not going to kiss his feet.”

“I’m not asking you to.” Seri told him. “What happened, Fushimi?” Fushimi shrugged, and Seri clenched her jaw. “It’s been a week since you stormed off and went looking for Tatara. Since then…”

“Since then what?” Fushimi’s voice was cold.

“Don’t take that tone with me.” She warned. Fushimi stiffened for a moment before relenting. He muttered _sorry_ under his breath and pushed his glasses up his nose, rubbing his temples.

“I…” He swallowed hard. Seri watched him, eyes trained on his face, watching as he clenched his jaw and he struggled to find the right words to say. “I saw Misaki again.” He smiled bitterly. “That was _shit,_ let me tell you.” He avoided her gaze. “I kissed Tatara.”  Seri’s eyes widened. “I ended up apologising to Misaki. I…” He trailed off, and Seri could only stare at him, speechless.

“You…” She shook her head in disbelief. Well, this clearly explained things. “Tatara…do you…” She watched as Fushimi’s lips set into a thin, hard line.

“I don’t know. I hadn’t even thought about it before. But I…” There was the scowl again. “You saw the way he looks at Mikoto!” Fushimi sounded lost. Seri couldn’t help but pity him.

“I appreciate you telling me.” She sighed eventually, and Fushimi shrugged. “I’m not going to interfere.” A look of relief flashed across his face. “I know you and I know how you handle things. But if it looks like anything will get out of hand…”

“You can step in then.” Fushimi told her. Seri nodded.

“I know I won’t be able to sway you.”

“I don’t expect you to.”

“If your barista skills slip…”

“You know they won’t.”

"All the same..."

"If I couldn't handle a little melodrama, I have no idea why you hired me."

There was a pause. Seri put a hand on Fushimi’s shoulder. She took a breath and opened her mouth to speak, but couldn’t think of anything to say.

“I wasn’t invited to the gathering.” That was Reisi’s voice. Seri turned to find him looking at them curiously. Seeing him made Seri feel at ease. Reisi, for all his idiosyncrasies, had always been her rock, the one person to keep her steady.

“Don’t worry. We’re finished talking.” Fushimi pulled away from Seri. “I’ll go and see if Tatara needs help.” Seri gave him a warning glance and he rolled his eyes. “I’ll be fine.” Seri smiled sadly at him.

“Alright. I’m trusting you.” Fushimi nodded and then glanced over her shoulder at Reisi.

“How many customers have you managed to scare away?” Reisi smiled serenely at Fushimi, but there was a steely glint in his eyes.

“I could ask you the same question.” Fushimi smirked at this.

“ _Touché_.” He turned back to Seri. “Thanks.” His voice was very soft, but Seri couldn’t help but smile. He was rarely one for pleasantries, so she knew that he was genuinely grateful. She watched as he disappeared inside the other room, and then turned to Reisi.

“What’s wrong with him this time?” Seri smiled sadly and shook her head.

“Something neither of us can do much about, I’m afraid.” Reisi nodded and headed back to the counter, Seri on his heels. She found Maria poring over a jigsaw on a table in the corner and couldn’t help but laugh. Maria looked over at her and her face split into a ground.

“Seri!” She exclaimed happily. “I’m stocking up on supplies for the kids.” By ‘kids’, Seri knew she was referring to Kuroh, Shiro, and Neko. Maria and Klaudia had been instrumental in helping with Kuroh’s wellbeing over the past week. “They’re doing well.” Seri relaxed when she heard this. “Klaudia’s playing at being mother hen. I’m just there keeping them all out of trouble. I think Kuroh’s planning on coming back soon.” She then gave a start and whirled around, waving madly at a young man waiting outside. He raised an eyebrow and entered the bakery.

“What’s up, Maria?” He asked, catching Seri’s eye and smiling at her.

“I wanted you to meet my friend, Seri. Oh, and Reisi-kun.” Chitose saluted them.

“Nice to meet you. My name’s Chitose.”

“Likewise.” Seri nodded at him.

“I didn’t expect to run into Maria here, actually.” He began. “I heard next door serves great coffee, though. My friend Mikoto-san is over there now, actually.” Seri stiffened. “Thought I’d come check out the bakery here and…” He smiled at Maria. “Who did I happen to run into but Maria. We’re going to get some lunch after.” Maria patted his shoulder before turning back to the display case. She caught Seri’s raised eyebrow and laughed, a light saccharine melody.

“Please, Seri.” But then she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Once there was…something.” She admitted, and Chitose rubbed the back of neck bashfully. “But now we’re good friends.”

“I know Klaudia.” Chitose added. “Same year at high school. The world is full of coincidences.” Seri nodded at this. _You’re telling me._ She thought, thinking over the events of the past week.

“Hm…” Maria tapped her chin thoughtfully. “I think…a meringue, some macarons for Claudia and I...some _anpan_ and _manjū_.” She turned to her companion. “Anything for you, Yō?” He shook his head.

“I’ve eaten. Izumo’s getting good at cooking, surprisingly.” At his words, Maria cast a sly glance at Seri, who merely rolled her eyes as she hurried to get Maria’s sweets.

“Don’t even think about it.” She sighed.

“Bye, Seri!” Maria called cheerfully, dragging Chitose out the door behind her. Seri waved goodbye before turning to look at Reisi, who had been observing her curiously.

“Yes?” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“Nothing.” Reisi’s smile was serene. “It’s interesting, seeing you work.”

“S-sure.” Seri turned away, feeling her cheeks flush. “I should go and make sure that Fushimi hasn’t caused a scene.” She cast a quick glance at him. “Will you be alright?” He sighed at this.

“Contrary to popular belief, dearest Awashima, I _do_ know how to run a store.” But he was smiling, that gentle, kind smile that made his eyes sparkle and made her chest hurt. She thought of Fushimi, eyes fixed on Totsuka, on someone he knew he could never have, and felt a flash of empathy. She turned away from Reisi, giving only a slight noise of assent, before pushing her way back into the café.

\---

Totsuka felt like he was on top of the world. He’d gotten off to a rough start when his hands trembled as he served Mikoto his drink, but soon all of that worry had been swept away by Mikoto’s voice, his eyes, his tentative smile. Mikoto’s eyebrows had risen when he’d tasted the macchiato Totsuka had prepared for him, but he gave Totsuka a look of approval.

“I like this.” He’d said, and Totsuka had felt a grin explode across his face. Now here he was, Mikoto leaning across the counter to talk to him, his eyes warm. Anna was sipping on her hot chocolate on one of the couches, looking content, her feet barely touching the floor. Totsuka had decided to turn the conversation towards Mikoto, desperate to find out more about the enigmatic man.

“How long have you known Kusanagi-san?” Mikoto hummed in thought at this.

“Since…middle school, I think. He inherited his father’s bar and I ended up hanging ‘round there most of the time, so we ended up close.” Mikoto tilted his head slightly to one side, inexplicably reminding Totsuka of a cat – or rather, a lion. “How long have you been working here?” Now it was Totsuka’s turn to think.

“Ages. Definitely years. But I’ve known Seri and Munakata-san for longer.” He smiled fondly. “Gradually we’ve gathered quite the little family.” His eyes lit up suddenly. “Oh!” He leant down behind the counter, searching around. “Found it.” He pulled out a little leather-bound photo album, eagerly flipping it open to show Mikoto. Mikoto’s eyes flashed with interest.

“You look young here.” He mused, pointing to one of the photos. Totsuka’s hair was longer and his face was rounder. “Cute.” Mikoto rubbed his chin, and Totsuka tugged at his bangs, feeling his face flush.

“Are you saying I’m no longer cute?” He couldn’t help but tease, and Mikoto looked up at him, studying his face for a moment. Totsuka felt like his face was on fire.

“I like your face.” From anyone else it would have been quite lame, but from the usually-quiet Mikoto, it made Totsuka’s heart race.

“I – I like yours too.” He stammered, and watched as a smile tugged at Mikoto’s lips as he turned back to the photos.

“Who took these?” The redhead asked.

“I did.” Totsuka was curious now.

“These are…very good.” Mikoto looked up at him, looking impressed. “Do you enter competitions?” Totsuka laughed and shook his head.

“Nah, I’m not good enough for that.” Mikoto reached out and touched his arm.

“I disagree.” The quiet rumble got to Totsuka more than anything else had, and he bit his lip and ducked his head, trying to get a grip on himself.

“He’s right, Tatara.” Fushimi drawled. He threw his arm around Totsuka’s shoulders and leaned into him. Totsuka froze. It was unlike Fushimi to initiate contact. So why…Totsuka’s eyes narrowed. Could it be because Mikoto was here? But that didn’t make any sense. Sure, Fushimi had kissed him, but Totsuka had thought that had purely been because of Yata. He had a sinking feeling in his gut.

“Saying something right, for once.” There was a note of warning in Mikoto’s voice. Totsuka looked helplessly between the two men, who had both suddenly become full of tension.

“Tatara.” That was Seri’s voice. Totsuka felt a rush of relief. “Shift’s over.” Fushimi looked hunted and stepped away from him.

“I’ll let you go clean up.” He sounded sour. Wanting to help but unsure how to, Totsuka gave up and turned back to Mikoto.

“Could you…wait here for a moment?” Totsuka was full of determination now.

“Do you want to get lunch?” Mikoto’s eyes were trained on his own: steady, calm. Totsuka’s eyes filled with light. Mikoto rose to his feet and leaned towards him. Totsuka swallowed nervously, barely daring to breathe. This closeness – it was a kind of intimacy Totsuka had craved, had missed, had yearned for.

“I would love that.” He murmured. “I would love –” That was when Mikoto leaned down and pressed his lips again Totsuka’s. His lips were hot and rough, but there was a gentleness to the kiss that both surprised and thrilled Totsuka. He thought he heard a dull _thud_ in the background, but right now he couldn’t spare a thought for anything else. Without a moment of hesitation he kissed back, feeling his body thrum with electricity. Mikoto’s fingers were tangled in his hair, pulling him ever closer, and Totsuka became increasingly frustrated with the counter that was in the way.

“ _Ahem._ ” Seri cleared her throat loudly, and Totsuka jumped back with a start. Mikoto looked amused, a small smirk on his face. “We’re still open.”

“Another time, then.” Mikoto told him. It didn’t sound like a suggestion, more like…more like a promise. Totsuka was still breathing hard, his face flushed and eyes bright.

“Yes please.” And Mikoto laughed, filling Totsuka’s heart with warmth. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - when mikototsu was your first and most cherished otp but you still end up rooting for the side ship
> 
> unbeta'd as ever :') 
> 
> it's exam hell week and i'm sick but i wanted to get this out of the way so next chapter can be more of a mikototsu focus
> 
> i think i've set up everything now, just need to think of some Juicy Drama (i'm thinking yukari might show up) and then we're away
> 
> sorry about the iffy ending, i hope you enjoyed reading this and tune in next time for "mikotsu, silver clan and the rarepairs' adventures in coffee shop au land"


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